Is Your Body a Spacesuit?

Do you wear your body for the same reason an astronaut wears a space suit?

An astronaut wears a pressure suit to have an adventure where the adventure would otherwise be impossible. Before embarking on an adventure like walking on the moon, an astronaut must don a pressure suit. The pressure suits used by the Apollo astronauts were incredible examples of the engineering of the period. They maintained the astronaut’s body temperature and kept its pressure in \equilibrium by wrapping it in a little cocoon. The spacesuit was just like a temporary, portable earth! They were completely airtight and literally held the astronaut's body together so it wouldn't boil off into space. The point here is that the astronaut wore the pressure suit for the duration of the moonwalk to enable adventure on the moon.

A pressure suit is required for the astronaut to survive in that environment. But we don’t think the astronaut IS the pressure suit, do we? In fact, the astronauts discarded the pressure suits before returning to earth because they were no longer necessary.

The time available to the astronauts for exploring the moon was clearly limited-- they wore the suits while out exploring. Because their was limited, the astronauts made sure to pack as much adventure as they could before disrobing and returning to their "real, earthly selves".

The same is true of the body you're wearing right now. It lets you experience things in a way unavailable if you were in another form. You can conduct experiments wearing your body that you weren’t able to conduct earlier before you were born—and that you won’t be able to conduct after you die. Use your faculties and explore as much as you can now. Have as much fun as you can because one day, you'll have to leave your body behind-- just as the astronauts had to leave their pressure suits behind.

The ONLY thing you can be 100% sure of is that you are here—NOW-- and the universe (including the body you inhabit) will never ever be the same as right now.

You could also say “you wear your body for the same reason a diver wears SCUBA gear” or “you wear your body for the same reason a mountain climber wears a parka” The adventurer needs the equipment temporarily. But you don’t consider the equipment to be the actual adventurer, do you?