Patty Mayeux Blog

The other day half of an onion I was chopping rolled off the counter. My thigh knew exactly how to catch it – no thinking involved, just a reflex that saved it from landing on the no doubt dirty floor. Our amazingly complicated bodies that carry our hearts and minds and souls around do so much more. Transporting piles of odd-shaped items from one room to the next calls into service our hands and fingers but also our arms clamping more things against our bodies. Even our heads, protectors of our brains, can lean toward a shoulder to grab yet another something. Our legs carry us around as a means of travel but also as a flight of fun when we dance or run. Hinges in our hips, knees and ankles add grace to such movement. Imagine trying to run with “perfect” plastic Barbie legs, stiff and ineffective. Our legs help us sit and then become laps for a child or a pet to sit upon while our hands and arms provide loving pats and hugs. These hard, mechanical bodies that catch falling onions are also soft and warm, inviting connection with other human bodies that hold hearts and minds and souls. Read more about Body Love on my Wednesday Substack post.