The soul and body of everyday life

Yesterday, as the hours went by, leaving me a powerless witness to my goals that just ended up evaporating one by one under the burning sun, I tried to repeat to myself that it was ok to not have done much, to not have filled every second with a worthy endeavor. I didn't feel too convincing, but it would have been unhelpful to beat myself up for my lack of motivation. 

So, my painting materials next to a canvas I wanted to fill with the image of a prototype of a dancing couple I drew on Friday and gave my friend as a card were installed but left untouched.  My blog post was not even started like I usually do on Sundays. I journaled late in the afternoon instead of in the morning. And I felt caught in the ''worry-go-round'' of my reflections about life, love and everything in between.

This morning, while still in bed and as I tried to deconstruct a core dimension of my life, or at least my own way to navigate it, I had an epiphany. The words ''content'' and ''container'' appeared as a new framework to certain aspects of existence. It captured really well my Sunday: an ultimate attempt to create structure by organizing my art supplies, then after 9 pm by doing laundry and filling up the dishwasher: to say it differently, the ''container''. But as for the ''content'', it was rather subtle and not made of what I had initially planned on. I had conversations with friends, communications with family, but I didn't give birth to the masterpieces I was grandiosely envisioning. 

My children, by arriving within the infrastructure of the union between their father and me, were the delightful content. Without structure, the content cannot be fully appreciated nor well channeled or nurtured. But without content, the container is just dry and makes life lose its flavor. You can have the frame of psychotherapy but without an engaged patient plus a curious and affirming therapist and their synergy (the content), it will go nowhere. We need both: the cup that holds the fluid and the fluid that goes from the cup to our lips. The soul needs a body to perceive and evolve in this world, just like the body needs a soul to give it life, light and vibrancy.

So now my daily goal will be to consciously attempt to balance container around content. Content in container.

Sometimes, what is a container for me will be more like content for you, or the same activity will serve as both container and content for me depending on context.

For instance, athletes might find joy in the activity they practice. For me, I rarely go walking just for the pure joy of walking. Moving my body this way is therefore more a container or a structure than a content that gives contentment to my soul (even though I do feel better after walking in nature). Rather, the walk becomes the metronome for my inspiration, as new ideas and solutions are generated while I take one step, then another. It is an interesting paradox to use the body to exit one's mind spinning its wheels (thank you left brain), only to re-enter it but on a much more cohesive or constructive zone, like the right part of our brain, which tends to be more creative, intuitive, fluid.

Containers and structures give us a sense of grounding and direction. Content is what makes us enjoy and savor life. It's the marrow inside the bone and the flesh around it. Therefore, relationships can also be approached using that angle: you can have the infrastructure of marriage, a legal union, or co-habitation, but nothing in it: no harmony, no love, no common goals, no shared laughter, no emotional connection. Very sad. Conversely, you may have a passionate bond with someone that is solely made of sensations, without loyalty or commitment. Not really viable neither, because its addictive potential risks creating a disorganization in other aspects of life, and the blissful content, as wonderful as it is, is condemned to overflow, spill and it can be lost... 

How do you balance the soul and body of your daily living ?