The Body Has Its Own Priorities

The body has its own priorities.

And they are not necessarily the same as ours.

We have work to do.

Plans to keep.

Housework.

Children to care for

Appointments and responsibilities.

And, of course, things we simply want to enjoy.

“I can’t rest today.”

“I just need to get this done.”

“I can keep going a little longer.”

We all have days like that.

But all the while, the body keeps working.

Even while we sleep,　

the heart keeps beating and we keep breathing.

The body digests what we eat,

absorbs what it needs,

and gets rid of what it no longer needs.

The liver processes nutrients, alcohol, medications and many other substances that enter the body.

The kidneys and intestines help maintain the body’s internal balance and eliminate waste.

When pathogens enter the body,

the immune system responds.

Even when we are completely unaware of it,

the work required to keep us alive continues,

all day, every day.

Even on the days we eat too much.

Drink too much.

Don’t get enough sleep.

Push ourselves too hard.

The body keeps responding to whatever situation it finds itself in,

working to keep us alive.

We Have Our Own Priorities

But we have our lives to live.

Work deadlines.

Tomorrow’s plans.

Housework.

Children.

Commitments to other people.

“This isn’t a good time to rest.”

We all feel that way sometimes.

But the body doesn’t start or stop feeling unwell according to our schedule.

It communicates with us in many different ways.

Pain.

Fatigue.

Feeling generally unwell.

Difficulty sleeping.

Emotional instability.

Changes in how we normally feel physically.

Of course, symptoms like these can have many different causes.

But sometimes, they can also be understood as signals:

“You’re pushing yourself too hard.”

“Something isn’t right.”

“Things can’t carry on exactly as they have been.”

No matter how busy we are,

no matter how full our diary is,

the body doesn’t particularly care about our plans.

It responds according to its own needs.

Ignore It Long Enough, and It Becomes “Normal”

And yet, we sometimes keep putting those signals aside.

“I’m fine.”

“It’ll get better eventually.”

“There’s nothing I can do about it right now.”

For weeks.

For months.

For years — sometimes even decades.

We keep ignoring what our body and mind are telling us.

And eventually, that state can begin to feel normal.

Being tired all the time becomes normal.

Being in pain becomes normal.

Poor sleep becomes normal.

Constant tension becomes normal.

Criticising ourselves becomes normal.

Pushing ourselves too hard becomes normal.

Feeling guilty for resting becomes normal.

And the longer it continues, the more we begin to tell ourselves:

“That’s just the way I am.”

“I’ve always been like this.”

“There’s nothing I can do about it.”

“This is normal for me.”

Eventually, we may stop questioning that “normal” altogether.

Sometimes, That “Normal” Becomes a Cage

Our personality.

Our habits.

Our patterns of thinking.

The beliefs we hold about ourselves.

Our experiences and the environments we have lived in.

“I have to do things this way.”

“This is just who I am.”

“This is all I’m capable of.”

Little by little, these things can accumulate until, without even realising it, we have built a kind of cage around ourselves.

And when we have lived inside it for long enough,

we may stop seeing that another path exists outside it.

We are struggling,

but the struggle has become part of everyday life.

We are exhausted,

but tell ourselves, “Everyone feels like this.”

Perhaps we have been suffering for a long time,

but have become so accustomed to it that we barely recognise it anymore.

We may not even realise

that we are living inside a cage.

And Still, the Body Keeps Going

Through all of this, the body continues to live alongside us.

The stress.

The tension.

The lack of sleep.

The years of pushing ourselves too hard.

The thoughts that constantly tell us we are not good enough.

Of course, our mental and emotional state does not explain every physical symptom.

But the mind and body are not completely separate either.

Ongoing stress and anxiety can affect our breathing, muscle tension, sleep and digestion.

Our emotional state can affect our physical wellbeing,

just as our physical state can affect how we feel emotionally.

And through all of it, the body continues.

Breathing.

Keeping the heart beating.

Digesting food.

Taking in what it needs.

GetThe body has its own priorities, which don’t always match ours. A reflection on ignoring the body’s signals, accepting discomfort as normal, and learning to listen again.ting rid of what it doesn’t.

Doing whatever it can, in the circumstances it has been given,

to keep us alive.

Before Silencing the Signal, Listen to It

So when the body or mind sends us a signal, perhaps instead of immediately thinking:

“I just want this to go away.”

“This is getting in my way.”

“I don’t have time for this.”

we can stop for a moment and ask:

“What is my body trying to tell me?”

“What have I been ignoring for a long time?”

“What do I actually need right now?”

“Is there anything I can change?”

Of course, we cannot simply abandon our jobs, our homes or our children.

Feeling unwell doesn’t mean we can put our entire lives on hold.

But when the body is crying out for attention,

perhaps we can, as much as realistically possible, give the body’s needs some priority.

Before telling ourselves, “I’m still fine,” and pushing through again,we can stop for a moment.

And pay a little attention

to what our body and mind are telling us.

The Body Has Its Own Priorities

We often expect our body to keep up with the life we have decided to live.

“I’m busy right now.”

“Just a little longer.”

“I’ll rest when this is finished.”

But perhaps we have it the wrong way around.

The body has its own priorities.

And what the body is trying to do every single day is not to finish our work, keep our appointments or meet other people’s expectations.

It is trying to

keep us alive.

Something that has felt “normal” for a very long time does not necessarily have to remain that way for the rest of our lives.

The things we have told ourselves are simply “who I am,”or the paths we thought were the only ones available to us,

may look different if we stop for long enough to really see them.

First, we notice where we are.

We notice the “normal” we have been living inside.

And perhaps that is when, for the first time,

we begin to see the door in the cage that we couldn’t see before.

So sometimes,

let the body’s needs come before our own plans.

Choose life first.

Because today, as every day,

the body is working to keep us alive.