I’ve belonged to a study, discussion, meditation group for two years now. Every so often our teacher encourages us to meditate upon the miracle of our body. “Consider thanking your body for all it enables you to do,” Reb Sally suggests. She is so right.Whether it’s a small loss — muscle tone, energy, flexibility — or something more dire, we tend to ignore how much our body does for us until it doesn’t.

In Jewish morning liturgy, there is what is colloquially called “the bathroom blessing.” These words of praise and gratitude to God acknowledge the mircle that all our “openings and closings” perform in concert with one another, just as they were designed to do day after day, year after year, decade after decade.  When they don’t, we suffer.

With two weddings coming up, I am eager to be on the dance floor once again. I thank my feet in advance.