C.S. Lewis famously said,
“You do not have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.”

But he never said that. Go. Look. Read. CS Lewis did not say you are a soul and have a body.

And it’s not true anyway.

You do not have a soul. You are a soul.

AND

You do not have a body. You are a body.

You are all the parts of you. 

Human flourishing depends on us being completely whole soul-body-beings. To try and separate our precious selves into manageable parts is to self-destruct. It is tempting to disown these imperfect, frustrating, noisy, smelly collections of skin and bones. But, in doing so, we lose ourselves. At least, we lose huge parts of what we are created to be.

In the Bible it is written that we are formed of God’s breath and the dust of the earth. You are a mysterious, beautiful, miraculous collection of infinitesimal objects that constantly die, regenerate, communicate, and stimulate YOU.

It is in the co-mingling cells and space, water and air that we are made whole. 

You are a soul. You are a body.

We are more like the ocean than a glass of water. Often, we see our bodies as the container that holds our soul, but the relationship between body and soul is much more complicated. Your body is not a simple receptacle. Your soul does not sit, untainted, within that beautiful skin. Your soul lives THROUGH your body. You are an entire ecosystem.

Breathe deeply and slowly and you WILL improve your mental acuity and strength. 

Dance regularly and you WILL reduce your risk of Alzheimers by 76%.

 

I am rooting for you {and for me!}.

You are an incredible, impossible collection of cells and space. You are spirit and personality and love. You are flesh and bone and miracle.

If you’ll take it, I want to give you enthusiastic permission to enjoy yourself {and your spouse, if you’ve accepted one} passionately and fully.

I want for you to walk down the street and feel the satisfying click of soul and body matching up; the grooves fitting just right.

I want for you to get in bed, feel your fingers and toes, lips and breasts and know that every part of you is Good, inside and out.

And when you’ve had a hard day. When you feel too small or too big, too ugly or too old, when the grime of life is stuck to you like wet sand, I want for you to have a place where the troubles of the world wash right off.

Reconnect your sensitive flesh to your indestructible soul.

Fill out to the edges so your body can feel loved and your soul can experience life.

Allow your body and soul to flourish and expand to their full shape and size.