The body

Presence begins here — in the pulse, in the breath, in the body we already are.

Not an artifact—this body breathes, remembers, and responds.
Not a possession—it’s my living pulse.

Your skin, your eyes have been with you since birth, in constant conversation with your mind—endlessly shaping one another.

I valued my body for what it could do, not for what it was.
Every criticism, every judgment—the way I looked, the way I felt—was a mistreatment I couldn’t yet see, hurting myself in the most profound way.

We do this often, don’t we?
So easily, we turn against ourselves.

This journey began with yoga years ago and continues through other forms of movement—a daily practice of living through my body, this body alive and ever-changing, moving as my connection with everything else grows.

The more I inhabit my skin, the more present life feels:
the shower running over my arms and torso,
the way I drift to sleep,
lighting a candle—
everything vivid, saturated with presence.
Trees, clouds, mountains—all felt within and without.

The lines between body, mind, and heart blur until separation fades.
In every moment,
I bow to this body—imperfect, impermanent, alive—for the life that moves through it.

Pau