#Embodiment

Let Your Body’s Soft Instincts Love

When Oliver says, “love what it loves,” she implies that some loves arrive prior to explanation. We often try to litigate our longings—asking whether they are productive, respectable, or safe—but the line suggests that love can be a form of recognition rather than a decision. In this sense, love resembles appetite or curiosity: it points toward what nourishes or enlivens us. That doesn’t mean every impulse should be obeyed; instead, it reframes the starting point. Before we correct, refine, or translate desire into plans, we can first acknowledge it without shame. The quote’s power lies in granting that initial honesty. [...]

Let the Body’s Tender Instincts Lead

Once the body is recognized as an animal, the next question is what prevents it from loving what it loves. Often the obstacle is self-surveillance: the internalized voice that demands we explain, sanitize, or earn our feelings. Oliver’s sentence counters that voice with simplicity, implying that constant self-monitoring can estrange us from our own experience. This doesn’t mean every impulse should be acted on without care; rather, it suggests that feeling itself is not the enemy. In modern psychological terms, approaches like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy encourage people to allow emotions to arise without immediately wrestling them into submission, trusting that clarity often follows honest contact with what we feel. [...]

Understanding Identity: Soul and Body in C.S. Lewis’s Thought

Moving from Lewis’s phrasing, the idea of a immaterial soul at the core of human nature is rooted in philosophical tradition, notably in Plato’s writings. In *Phaedo*, Plato asserts that the soul’s existence precedes and outlasts the body, setting the stage for later interpretations. Lewis’s worldview echoes this dualism, emphasizing a hierarchy where the soul guides and the body follows. [...]

Transforming Life’s Essence into Purposeful Action

Rabindranath Tagore, the celebrated Indian polymath, emphasizes the rare and supreme quality of converting the richness of life into concrete effort. This profound observation suggests that it is not enough merely to experience or contemplate existence; the true distinction lies in channeling those experiences into meaningful deeds. Through Tagore’s lens, life’s value is realized not in passivity, but in the active shaping of the world around us. [...]

The Soul’s Journey: From Potential to Purposeful Action

Building on this image, the body represents not merely a vessel, but the fertile ground in which the soul can express itself. According to Gibran, the body provides the conditions and limitations necessary for the soul's latent qualities to emerge. In much the same way, Aristotle argued in ‘De Anima’ that the soul cannot fulfill its function without the faculties the body bestows, emphasizing the integral relationship between spirit and flesh. [...]

Your Body Is the Piece of the Universe You Have Been Given to Change the World - H.G. Wells

H.G. Wells suggests that our physical existence is a powerful instrument for influencing the world. Through our actions, movements, and decisions, we bring about change. [...]

The Chief Function of the Body Is to Carry the Brain Around - Thomas A. Edison

The quote offers a philosophical take on the human body, suggesting that our ultimate purpose is defined more by our mental achievements than by physical existence. [...]