The ageing body versus the ageless being

What if the being in the body never ages? What if the body, a divine and yet temporary rental, houses us for a lifetime, and the being resides there to represent a particular design or movement?

The ageing body ages in cycles. From birth to puberty to childbearing to menopause to elderly, the woman's body in particular ages through cycles, and this changes the landscape of the body.

What occurs with the day-to-day ageing of the body? The intake of food, the movements of the daily doings, the facial expressions that map the face after etching years of smiling, crying, concern and worry, will all affect our health and wellbeing. What about the day-to-day weight-bearing, both physically and energetically? The heaviness and density of the body are directly reflective of the being within.

Give the same body to two different residents, what would occur? One lived in a way that feels hard and impactful, pushed, strained, worried, restrained, withdrawn, hidden, abused or shut down, as opposed to a body that has been lived with gentleness, low impact, light eating, less worry and more playfulness, detached and open? How would this body look and feel?

Ageing is natural. However, it is also natural to take care of the body and, like a well-cared-for car, the body will age gracefully. Yes, minor scars, a little fading and perhaps some repairs, but the overall quality of the car will be felt in the well-oiled engine and the beautifully buffed enamel.

Our bodies are not supposed to be used for functionality only. We have been provided with this magnificent vessel, and how do we move it, love it, care for it and sustain it?

The wear and tear of the body will speak for itself over the years. It’s an honest process and, as we age, the signs are there.

But what of the being within the body? If the body ages, what occurs with the being?

The being in the body is and always will be existing within the structure of the body for an imminent and rather fleeting moment. But what if that being is more than the body? Beyond the body? Does the being age? Many would say they still feel 21 when they age and move from 30 to 40 to 50. But what is ‘feeling 21’? The attitude is open, determined by the health and vitality of the body plus the ‘lightness of being’ or rather the being’s willingness to stay open, current, fresh and alive regardless of their age. The wisdom of an elder is evident in the elder, but only in terms of lived experience and embodied life, but what about the wisdom of an infant?

The beauty of the ageing body is that it allows the being within to truly sense the impermanence of the structure we live within. There is a humbling that occurs with the ageing of the body and a beauty that asks that we take true care of our impermanent vessel. How many truly do? It is evident when you look around that many do not truly care for the vessel. It is seen and felt in the walk, talk, movement and vitality. However, meet a being that resides in a body that is open, loving, gentle, detached and dedicated to the health and wellbeing of the vessel, and you may find the ‘ageing effect’ has less impact than what we have been led to believe by social conditioning.

The being in the body never ages, but the body, a vessel of impermanence, does have a cycle of completion.

When and why that is, is not for us to know. But to deeply care for the vessel we reside in, each and every day is not only our responsibility as residents but a majestic honour. This body has been offered to us all to live within and its beauty is unfathomable. Deeply care for the body every single day and the being will have the blessing of feeling the freedom of a life cycle without the constraints of a body that is hard, old, diseased and shut down.

If and when the body ages and we have, without perfection, taken loving care of it, we will feel an intimacy and love for this lifelong friend – the vessel that is our body – as it has served us through this One Life as a space to house the Soul.

Filed under

Body awareness, Cycles, Human body