Episode Transcript  

One

Happiness and the Body

Imagine going to somebody’s house, and every room in the house was spotless and beautiful, except the bathroom. The bathroom is a total mess. It’s never cleaned, and the toilet won’t even flush. And the homeowner says, “Oh yes, the bathroom is the least noble room in my house. So even though I still use it, I just ignore it completely.” You would say, “Well, it’s still part of your house, and you have to take care of it. If you don’t, the whole house will be ruined!”

That’s kind of like people who decide that their body is the least important part of their humanity, so they just use it and neglect it. Happiness requires the entire fulfillment of the human person. And part of the human person is the body. That means you aren’t following an effective program for happiness unless you’re taking care of the body’s physical needs.

What does this mean practically? It means you have to sleep well, eat well, and exercise. It’s not rocket science, but if we don’t make a plan for it and then be disciplined about following it, we’re going to compromise our entire character.

Two

Eating Well

Caring for your body starts with what you eat. If the only fuel you put in your body is processed food, sugar, and alcohol, your body and mind will eventually break down. It’s impossible to reach lasting happiness when your basic fuel is toxic. So, what should we do?

Clear out the junk. Stop buying the things that tempt you to overeat or that leave you sluggish and irritable. If it’s not in the house, you can’t eat it. Buy real food, the kind found around the edges of the grocery store: meat, fish, eggs, dairy, fruits, and vegetables. Avoid the pre-packaged, instant, and drive-through meals that dull both taste and gratitude. Make time to prepare food thoughtfully. Eat slowly and peacefully, free from screens, giving thanks as you eat. Then don’t graze between meals. Let hunger return so that eating remains a conscious act, not a reflex.

Keep alcohol and sweets for true feasts and celebrations, and preferably shared with others. They are meant for joy, not escape. Practice fasting from favorite foods or drinks at least once a week. Fasting disciplines desire, clears the mind, and renews gratitude. When you eat this way, with intention, gratitude, and temperance, you enjoy your food more, think more clearly, and are freer to give yourself fully to work, prayer, and leisure.

Three

Sleep Well

Taking care of your body means getting enough sleep. Without real rest, how can you delight in truth, goodness, and beauty? How can you pursue excellence in your work or be truly present to the people you love? How can you pray with focus or hear the quiet voice of God when you’re running on fumes? When you live on the edge of exhaustion, your mind clouds, emotions fray, and even small problems feel overwhelming.

Getting proper sleep is one of the most basic prerequisites for happiness and virtue. A few saints have received the rare grace to offer sleeplessness as a mystical sacrifice to God. Some people bear insomnia as a cross and can unite that suffering to Christ’s. But for most of us, lack of sleep is not a cross; it’s a failure of discipline. When we ignore the body’s natural rhythm, we undermine every higher pursuit from the start.

So what’s the remedy? Order. Go to bed early and rise early, as wise people have done for centuries. Set a curfew for your phone, computer, and TV. Don’t let them be the way you prepare for sleep. Rise as soon as the alarm rings. You’d be amazed at how many sins, vices, and emotional struggles vanish once you keep a steady rhythm of rest.

Even if you struggle with sleep, go to bed early, rest as best you can, and rise on time. You’re still getting more renewal than you realize.

It is an act of humility and trust in God to accept our design, that we are not machines, and that peace begins when we allow ourselves the rest we need. 

Four

Exercise

Aristotle defines natural objects, physical objects in the universe, as “moveable beings.” Our bodies are what connect us to the physical universe. Which means, they’re supposed to move.  Everybody knows that for most of human history, most work, whether as smiths or carpenters or farmers, required a lot of movement. Now we sit all the time. We sit in the car, we sit at work, and we sit all night at home. So we need to move our bodies.

So get out and run or bike or swim and absolutely lift weights for strength, balance, and bone density. But the most basic movement we should be doing more of is walking. We have to be rigorous in spending more time walking. Which is great, actually, because walking is one of the best ways to appreciate nature, talk to a friend, and just work through our own ideas.

Walking is a great intellectual stimulant. Aristotle and his fellow philosophers walked so much that they were called the ‘peripatetics” or “walkers”. Charles Dickens would go for long walks every day to get the ideas for his prodigious novels. So walk on your lunch break. Walk with your family after meals. Above all, walk instead of turning on the TV. Walk and think about how good it is to be alive.  

Five

The Body and the Soul

After a decade of graduate school and a doctorate, raising five little kids, and a very demanding professional life, one of the best things my spiritual director demanded of me was daily exercise! The mind and spirit simply can’t function properly if your body is a mess. Just like the house where the bathroom isn’t taken care of will be infected with the stink that comes from a malfunctioning toilet. So will your soul be compromised with the disorders of an undisciplined body.

The body is the foundation for the soul, which is why, as St. Gregory the Great says, if you don’t have some self-control at the physical level, you can’t hope to go very far in the spiritual life. The point isn’t to have some kind of perfect physique, or to think physical wellness is enough to make you happy, because it isn’t. But the body is part of what we are, part of what God has given us, and we have to be responsible for taking care of it.

If we don’t, the integrated whole that is the human being will suffer, and our happiness will remain that much further out of reach.

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