I went running for an hour this morning, on the Provo River Trail. It was cold. It had just stopped raining and the wind was blowing hard. I finished my run, and felt like I could have kept running even longer. Where did this new body/mind come from?

For years exercise has been a chore, a necessity, a bother. Now, I love moving my body. I feel connected to it more strongly than I ever have before. I realize that I have accountability for the choices I make that affect it. I am responsible for my health, the food I eat, the rest I get and the exercise I choose. My body is the instrument through which I will sing the song I came to this earth to sing. This “body costume” is what clothes me as I live out my life’s mission.

Of course I have a few “trouble spots” that I’m not too happy with, but for the most part, I accept what is. I am grateful for all that my body does for me. I can walk and run and dance. I can speak and cheer and sing. I can see, hear, touch and feel. Just being alive is a wonderful thing! I am grateful for the gift of this precious day, and for the miracle called “the body”. I am in awe at the strength, vitality, love and beauty that are expressed every day, just because our spirits were allowed to take on human form.

I am perfect, whole and complete, exactly as I am. My body is amazing. I am enough. Today I’m just deeply grateful to be alive.