A body is vessel that a mind inhabits.
As we move through our day, the body is most often in service to the mind. It seems as though every cell and tissue and organ exists to execute the mind’s will. The body does not make value judgements. It seems to only know comfort and discomfort, and on a more extreme scale, pleasure and pain. However, we must never forgot that we sense the world through our bodies, and exist in the world as bodies. And that for the body to serve the mind, the mind must first serve the needs of the body.
When we forget the needs of our bodies, they are quick to tell us so. The body says to the mind, over and over, I am hungry, I am tired, I need to relieve myself, I am hurt, I am sick, whatever it may be. Even if relief cannot come until later, and mind knows this, there is no effective way to communicate back to the body, and the pestering persists. At this point, the mind must figure out how to ignore the issue if it does not want to become miserable listening to the body’s helpless cries.
This is why, while it is important to cultivate mental fortitude against common discomforts, it is more important to cultivate a healthy lifestyle, so there are fewer discomforts in the first place. Children are taught that they need to eat well-rounded diets, and get plenty of sleep and exercise. However, they are not taught to find joy in these things. A balanced meal often tastes much more delicious than one that is overloaded with salt and grease. Stretching soothes spots that are tight and sore from life’s daily demands, and elevating the heart rate oxygenates the blood, leaving the mind feeling energized and refreshed. A walk outside can fix many minor mental ailments. And sleep is delicious, though most do not get enough of it.
Because the mind and body are not separated entities, a life that serves the body is among the happiest that can be lived.