People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea,
at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular
motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering... Now, let us
acknowledge the wonder of our physical incarnation— that we are here, in these
particular bodies, at this particular time, in these particular circumstances.
May we never take for granted the gift of our individuality.
— Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430)
How often do we take time to appreciate the gift God has given us for making us who we are? We all find fault with ourselves and can easily get into negativity, focusing on what is wrong with us and our bodies.
We think we're too short, too fat, too impatient, or too demanding. We fail to appreciate what our bodies can do instead of what we can't. In the end, we just wind up being unhappy and getting stuck.
But if we take a moment to be grateful and ponder the marvel that we even exist - all of those things that make us human fall into perspective.
The truth is that each of us was wholly created by God and we are invaluable to Him. Our self worth is not based on a sense of arrogance, but an appropriate recognition that our Creator formed us in love and watches over us. This love is not conditional on being a certain height or weight or other physical attributes, but on who we are spiritually. Nor does God expect us to be perfect - because we are human. He knows we have failings, bad tempers and all!
So the next time you find yourself feeling negative about who you are, take a deep breath and say a prayer of gratitude!
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