Why I brush my teeth...and other Body thoughts.

{To preface: I've been working with Dance of Shiva a lot lately; it is kinda like Sudoku for your body.  Amazingly useful for taking look at your patterns and providing you with ephipanies, or nom-piphanies in my case, which are salty buttery popcorn flavored epiphanies.  No, that doesn't need to make any sense for you to get something out of the rest of this post, but just so you know, I super hugely highly reccommend the Shiva Nata. And without it this post would never have been written.}

i've been contemplating the idea of structure a lot lately; thinking that it is something like what i need more of in my life.  But about how that word just doesn't work for me.  About how it contains things like:

• rigidity
• solid
• geometric
• square
• compartmentalize
• separate
• organized
• functionality
• corporation
• permanence
• schedule
• a building

most of what is in there feels so grating, so limited and immovable, so contrary to what i am. 

call me what you like: renaissance soul, scanner, a cubicle-escapee, a polypassionasaurus, or whatever. 
I want something that enables me to get things done in a way that doesn't contradict what i am.

I want the structure without the rigidity, the immovability.  I don't want to have to wreck the building if the layout isn't working.  I wrote a bit about it but got stuck and couldn't figure out what word i needed, the one i could work with. 

Then suddenly it totally hit me, while walking down the street.  Body. 

Body is a moving structure.  It is allowed imperfections (and often rejoiced for them!), it is able to change, to adapt to situations, it can be active or in repose.  It can be nurtured.  It stands at the center of attention or it can be the hidden support.  Body is different and perfectly suitable for each person.  (People vary, right!)   It is mutable, yet solid, grounded, rooted to the earth even as it moves across it.   It can be used in new and interesting ways to change and create energy.  One part interacts with the next part, which interacts with the next part, and so on and so on.  Nothing is separate, the functions reverberate through the whole system of the body.  So, little changes can make waves.  This is comforting.  Allaying my fear that I must change everything all at once (and the fear that I can't do anything until I have the "structure" completely built and the ribbon cut by royalty). 

The metaphor is fitting, too, considering how closely most of my work is related to the body.  The body is the movable framework upon which the art is fashioned and put to use.  So what I'd like to work on is imagining and creating the body, the organic framework, that supports my work.   

One helpful way to translate this into action is to think about the daily, or weekly, or monthly, etc, steps that I take for my body already. 

Let's take brushing my teeth as an example.  Why do I brush my teeth every morning?  It wakes me up, refreshes me (and my breath), it says "i am starting my day", its also a preventative measure; preventing decay, it makes me confident about smiling in public, which is about showing my best self to the world.
So what kinds of things could I do daily that take about the same amount of time as brushing my teeth that could provide the same thing for my work? 
-What comes to mind is clearing off my work table and studio floor.  It fulfills the "i am starting my day" thing and also a preventative measure, addressing the space on a daily basis would prevent the quarterly freak-outs about messiness, it would refresh the space and make me want to spend time there, or even show it to other people.

The other cool thing about thinking about it in these terms is that if you forget, so what?  I mean yeah if you forgot to brush your teeth you'd probably feel a little gross, and it might kinda throw things off for the day, but it doesn't take a ton of time to do, you can always do it whenever you do think of it, and forgetting here and there doesn't make you a bad failed human being (unless maybe you're a dental hygenist or something, but we won't go there today...).

So yeah, if you are like me and Structure doesn't work for you, but Body does, think about what you do for your body, or maybe what functions your body performs.  Why do you do it?   How can you give that to your work too? 

I'm totally going to turn this into a series called.....wait for it..... Bodily Function Tuesdays.  HA!  You are excited.  It will be..... regular.     *can no longer contain myself, rolling on the floor laughing, and also kind wondering if i'm the only one finding that funny*  

Comments

[Kelly Parkinson]

I love it! Bodily Function Tuesdays! This is probably the best series name ever. I can't wait to announce it to someone. "Hey, did you know today is Bodily Function Tuesday?"

[Sarah]

I love you so much. You are pushing me to think about new things in new ways. Cannot wait for more regular bodily functions from you, Laura. (heh)

[Evin]

Inspirational! And I totally laughed at the brilliant name. Can't wait for Tuesdays now. I promise to be a regular reader.

[Josiane]

What a brilliant metaphor! I love it! It will probably serve as a starting point for my post-Shiva Nata musings tomorrow morning... I'm looking forward to reading more of your own musings on that theme!

[Cindy Morefield]

As someone who struggles similarly with structure, I love, love, LOVE this! Will totally be looking forward to Bodily Function Tuesdays.

[Elizabeth]

That is brilliant! I am not a fan of structure for a lot of the reasons you describe (I like the idea in theory but it seems so, so, rigid .. locking me in) but body as structure is a metaphor that makes sense, along with your ideas on how to use the metaphor in other areas. I am excited for Bodily Function Tuesdays.

(Also, I crack myself up all the time. And yes, that was funny!)

[jen]

clearly you're not alone here, especially not in your potty humour! Welcome to your new home.

[Michelle Russell]

Laura! Thios is brilliant. And Bodily Function Tuesdays? I'm hearing the tagline "Metamucil for the mind." ;o)

Seriously, love the body metaphor for solid and grounded yet flexible structure. And a lot of specifics resonated with me, too. Especially "(and the fear that I can't do anything until I have the "structure" completely built and the ribbon cut by royalty)." Yes, yes, YES!!!!! I run into that so many times. Like the foundation has to be poured and set and all the structure in place (more of that rigidity stuff) before I can even *start* Whatever Thing I Want to Begin. So I'm really appreciating your reminder that little changes really can bake big waves. Thanks!