The other day I was just looking at a number of things on youtube and came across this short clip:
bear body

The thing is that it reminded me of two things:
1) Our identification with the body
2) The neglect of the human form of life

Now I spent the next few days pondering these two points and looking at my own identification not only of myself but also how this impacted on my view of others. Ok so I this in many ways is a waste of precious time that I could have spent reading or chanting but the mind wonders so.

I came across this small passage from Srila Prabhupada:

Identification with one’s material body surpasses the mere affection and attachment one feels for the bodies of relatives or friends. The word sarva-bhavena here shows that one totally accepts the material body to be oneself, just as one completely accepts the experience of a dream as real. Mere imagination without practical action is called a daydream; the mental concoction that occurs in a sleeping state is called a dream. Our identification with our own body and our blind acceptance of bodily relationships as permanent constitute a prolonged form of dreaming or fantasy in which one imagines oneself to be separate from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The term birth, therefore, does not refer to the generation of a new entity but to the blind acceptance by the spirit soul of a new material body.
SB 11.22.40

Now I must admit at this stage that I am one to daydream whisking myself away to the world were I am the hero that saves the day or were people recognize me for the genius I really am (or may be not). But the reality of life remains. The aches and pains of the material body also reminds us of the fragility of life if only I could be like the men in the films all tough and illness free!
But again this is identification with the bodily concept of life, which distracts me from the real meaning of life, the essence and purpose that is simply to become God Conscious (Krishna Conscious).
It also reminded me of my thoughts as a child lay in bed wondering if as I slept at night I was actually part of someone else’s dream, what would happen if they woke up would I then exist in their world or only in there dreams. But also reminded me of very vivid dreams were I would wake up in a panic, did that really happen? Only to be relived that it was just a dream.
So the example given made me think some more reflecting on my own experience and feelings again the me, my thought was simple that I remain limited to the concept of my own intelligence, but also in wonder that with such limitations Srila Prabhupada wrote in such a way as to help me understand and see that this identification of the temporary body hinders our spiritual progress whilst also valuing it as the vessel that will best help me return to my correct constitutional position.
So thank you body for putting up with my ignorance whilst allowing me to come into the light of true knowledge of Krishna.