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When we relate to our bodies as having soul, we attend to their beauty, their poetry and their expressiveness. Our very habit of treating the body as a machine, whose muscles are like pulleys and its organs engines, forces its poetry underground, so that we experience the body as an instrument and see its poetics only in illness.
Thomas Moore
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the importance of viewing our bodies as more than just machines, advocating for an appreciation of their beauty and expressiveness.

Thomas Moore encourages us to shift our perception of our bodies from mere mechanical entities to soulful beings. By treating our bodies as machines, we overlook their inherent beauty and emotional expression, confining their 'poetry' to moments of illness rather than in the everyday experience of life. This perspective invites mindfulness and appreciation for our physical form, celebrating it as a vessel of both beauty and meaning.

Themes

BodySoulBeautyExpressivenessPoetryPhilosophy

In practice

Example use cases

During a health workshop to highlight the importance of holistic wellness.

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