The best cure for the body is a quiet mind.

— Napoleon Bonaparte

REFLECTION

WHAT THIS MEANS

Worry has a physical residence. It shows up as shallow breathing, poor sleep, a stomach that will not settle, a body already tired before the day starts, so calming the mind often does change how the body feels. That is a real effect and worth having. It is not a claim that illness is caused by thinking, or that a settled mind cures what medicine treats, and anyone unwell has usually been offered that idea too many times already.

Where it is useful, treat quiet as maintenance rather than reward. A walk without a phone, a night with the news off, one worry written down and left there until morning.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

How does your body behave when your thoughts race?

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