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The good body = the good we embody
Originally appeared on spirituality.com
Standing in the checkout line at the supermarket, you don’t have to pick up very many magazines to recognize the deep dissatisfaction many people feel about their bodies. But while articles promise ways to “Walk Off Pounds” and discover “Easy Body Makeovers,” they rarely deliver.
Some people treat the topic with a sigh of resignation, while others take pretty drastic steps to alter their bodies in some way. But no matter what tack you take, a lot of thought and energy is spent on body and body image.
Eve Ensler’s play The Good Body addresses what she calls an American addiction of self-hatred, mainly by women, of their physical bodies. She suggests that the crying need is to accept and embrace our bodies. By turning away from self-absorbed attempts to perfect them, we can expend the freed-up energy to respond to a wider sphere of needs and conditions (“Belly, Dancing,” O: The Oprah Magazine, June 2006).
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