Instead, she knows me,
- through my body- how to release the physical and mental trauma that I
hold…With Carole’s help, I begin to acknowledge the price my body has paid. It
has taken more than ten years, but I am ready to acknowledge just how damaged I
am, how difficult my life is. …Most importantly, Carole shows me that my
paralyze body has not fallen silent. It did not die” (155).
For me, this is by far the most profound passage or section
in the book. It is certainly one that struck a cord with me because it showed
me that once we make a conscious decision to let go of the negative energy and
bad karma that accumulates within our lives over time, we will begin to heal
and live life to the fullest. Embracing the good and bad. The most encouraging
part of this passage, is when Matt finally accepts his body and embraces all
its imperfections – “This is my life…. this is what it is” (152). With this, we
see first hand how this brings about a sense of relief and renewed sense of
purpose in that moment. It awakens what was once dead or perceived to be dead
and completely restores it. As his mental state is restored he is then able to
transfer those thoughts to his body (physical state) and work towards living
with the limbs he does have access to and learning to listen internally to
those limbs that have been altered. Accepting ones fate, or newfound fate, does
not mean the rest of life will be easy as we see towards the end of the book
with the bones in his legs breaking. There will indeed be trails and
tribulations, but with those come brighter days ahead. It starts with taking the initial step
and stepping out of the gray zone and relinquishing the built up anger. This
might sound cliché, but my mom is a living witness that a change in attitude or
perception when it comes to physical pain and disability can make all the
difference. Despite having two surgeries when there was only one scheduled and complications
arise she continues to heal every day and live life to the fullest. More
importantly, accepting ones situation is essential to moving forward with positivity
and the will to live.
I did my memoir on Christina Sell's Yoga from the Inside Out, and she also talks about accepting your body as it is. I think it's important not to compare ourselves to other people and just to be content with what God has given us. Our culture perpetuates an ideal body image for men and women that is unrealistic. We shouldn't conform to this image.
ReplyDeleteGlad you found so much to resonate with in the book. You speak very eloquently about its power.
ReplyDeleteI think what was so great about Sandel's book was that he didn't sugar coat things. He told you how it really was. He accepted his fate, his crippled state but afterwards it wasn't all daisies and blossoms. It was a difficult task recuperating from just that. He was so relatable and this book was so heartfelt, I absolutely fell in love with it. I felt like he was sitting in front of me and telling me his story.
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