The fact is that in this life we've only got one body and we really should treat it well. The counsel to treat it like a temple is really wise. Some of us, though, have seen these temples of ours go through some unwelcome additions (weight gain), unexpected developments (Hello, MOOBS!), as well as some delightful renovations (like when I was at my peak running condition a few years ago). At this stage of my life, this temple of mine, this body, is feeling a lot like a neglected Trump casino. The original investment has gone sour and things have gotten unsightly and people really would prefer to keep the unsightliness covered up (several new rash guards were just ordered for the cruise at the end of the month - you're welcome, fellow cruise guests). Unlike Trump and his casino businesses, I'm not prepared to throw in the towel, declare bankruptcy, and walk away. There's still hope for another nice renovation.
That's the amazing thing about these bodies of ours. We can renovate them and I'm not talking in skanky Kardashian surgical fashion. With a little, or a lot of, work, we can literally reshape this thing. It's amazing what our bodies can do, like fighting off ailments, curing itself, and regenerating stuff. I was thinking about this as I donated blood this morning. Although it took me until I was 35 years old (because I was an EPIC chicken) to start donating, I've been an uber-regular blood donor ever since. The blood can go, as far as I'm concerned. It regenerates itself and in donating, I'm literally saving lives. I'm doing something good for my fellowman. In an effort to keep that doing good for my fellowman thing going, I long ago decided to be an organ donor. Once I'm dead, I will have ZERO use for any of my organs, so why not give them away? Seriously, if there's something useful, take it, use it, go on living with my spleen or my heart. I'd give you my gall bladder but that useless piece of junk took its leave from the temple here a few years ago. No gall bladder for you! To make up for that (no, not really), I recently signed on as a bone marrow donor. Again, as far as I'm concerned, it can go too. If a bit of my marrow can help someone with a blood cancer, I'm in. I can get along just fine without it. When I read the documentation associated with the marrow donation, I was in awe, again, of these temples - these bodies - that we possess.
So, sure, everything must go! A bit of blood every eight weeks. A bit of marrow when they find a match. An organ or two, or more, when I'm dead. Frankly, that's the easy stuff. The hard part? The necessary renovations to the Temple of Me that I need right now. Losing the moobs and the pillowy soft, middle-aged DadBod. That's the really hard part. And that foolishness, yeah, it really needs to go!
To find your nearest opportunity to donate blood with the Red Cross, go here
To sign up as an organ donor, go here or here
To learn more about marrow donation through DKMS, go here
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