Thanksgiving Week: Health

11.20.2016

This is the fourth post of my Thanksgiving Week series. If you haven't already, I'd recommend reading the introduction post first!

I've spent far, far too much of my life thinking about my body. Is it thin enough, pretty enough, good enough? As if that's any reflection of me as a person. But for all of that obsession I rarely took time to appreciate all of the things my body is capable of, and how valuable my health is. It requires a lot of maintenance (was 8 hours of sleep really necessary, evolution?), but having a healthy body lets me focus on living and experiencing and enjoying. I can spend hours hiking, eat most foods, and take care of myself entirely on my own. I don't need to take a pill in the morning, or worry about whether a restaurant will have something that's safe for me to eat. And I'm able-bodied, a privilege I take entirely for granted which influences how others see and treat me. My body is the vessel I live in, my home, my rock, and it's been a damn good one at that. For that, I'm grateful.