These past couple of months have been huge for my personal growth. There are times when we feel we’re learning steadily - like a slow stream of information and fulfillment trickles into our lives day by day. But my experience has been entirely different. It hasn’t been a slow stream, but an overwhelming force. A waterfall of knowledge combined with extensive experience that has changed the very fabric of how my body is wired. Some days create an overflow; information processing is tedious and slow. Other days bring calm and deep reflection alongside. This short blog contains three realizations that came as a result of a long, processing day.

Understanding the complement of the body alongside the mind feels like unlocking a deeper awareness — not just of ourselves, but of how we engage with the world. It’s more than sensation; it’s information. The body becomes a second brain, offering insight that acts both as a partner and a friend. Once we interpret this information correctly: instinct, reaction, feeling, impression, and more - all become variables in the equation of life.

This means:

Judging others by their words reveals only their theoretical path. Judging others by their actions reveals their instinctual path.

Examples of these are simple: someone says they want to do something, but don’t. That’s an example of an idea that has reached the mind, but not the body. Stay wary - no action will be taken until the body agrees to accept the burden the brain is still overturning.

Someone does something, but says something else. This is instinct speaking, not logic. People who go out of their way to save others in disaster, or more simply, those who exhibit kind behaviors like holding the door open for others or picking up litter. The body is acting instinctually before the mind processes the situation.

The takeaway is as follows: only when we find both words and actions aligned can we truly grasp someone’s true path. Paths can change, but change always starts from somewhere. Finding and understanding people who are aligned makes following their path instinctual, not burdensome.

Intensity reveals itself through communication.

The intensity of the mind can be shown through devotion and values. The intensity of the body can be shown through intimacy and care.

Both are displayed differently through communication. Depending on the amount we communicate to another - whether it’s an idea, a concept, or just for togetherness - we share the intensity of our thoughts and feelings. But communication is effort. Reaching out takes time, and signals care. If people don’t reach out, it shows that their ego values hiding intensity at the cost of communication, and thus, connection. In other words, the pace of communication signifies the intensity of any relationship. More communication equals more connection.

Grief is infinite and permanent.

The body functions as a source of intelligence by transcribing feeling into information. Thus, if deep sadness, tragedy, or misfortune affect the individual, they become permanently affected by the feeling itself. Grief is a scar that etches itself directly into the body - a wound that never heals. Each ache is inscribed into our flesh as a permanent reminder of experience - the deeper the pain, the broader the imprint. As Lord Henry states in my favorite book, The Picture of Dorian Gray, “There is always something infinitely mean about other people’s tragedies.”

Understanding that quote means opening ourselves to the intelligence of another’s body - the trauma that has been etched forever into their soul. Grief then becomes an eternal painting of one’s reality. The body becomes a canvas layered with knowledge, and wracked with pain. In that, each person is a portrait of their own grief - and their natural beauty lies in how they choose to externalize it.

Maybe that’s why the most beautiful paintings - and people - elicit powerful feelings within others.