health = freedom
We generally don’t take action without good reason, but if the current climate isn’t enough to call yourself into action what is? It is hard to think that it’s almost been “years” of this nonsense without any tangible methods being implemented to positively change the status quo.
Regardless of your beliefs about why the world is in a state of panic, the unfolding events have presented us with an opportunity to see things differently. Hopefully, it has allowed us to recognize that the way we’ve been persuaded to think, the way we’ve been told to see each other, and the way we’ve been informed to take care of our bodies, has come from a place of fear. We’re scared into lesser versions of ourselves, and therefore our communities, because it has been the most consistent and loudest message.
None of us enjoy this constant state of inequity, poor health, strife, yet we continue to sit back and wait for things to change for the better without the realization that ultimately it all starts with you and I. Everything starts with the collective Us. We need to come together to redefine what it means to live a life of our choosing built upon a foundation of health that provides us the freedom to pass through this life with relative ease.
We have to envision a society where true health is a fundamental part of society. Despite what we are seeing right now. Despite what we are hearing right now. It is possible.
Taking personal responsibility for our health needs to be the rule, not the exception. This isn’t a call for mask wearing and vaccinations, it is far more fundamental than that. This is a call to take personal responsibility for the health of your body and the inputs you provide it. What you put in, is what you get out. And as a society we are failing miserably. In the US, about 90% of our citizens are metabolically unhealthy, which means there’s around 10% of our population that has enough knowledge, or luck, to provide their body with the correct inputs to achieve a level of health that allows them to approach the current state of the world with confidence. Imagine if it were all different. Imagine if the majority weren’t beholden to the consistent need of refilling medications, scheduling treatments for their ailing bodies, or settling into a lives of dis-comfort as if it were somehow preordained. Do you think the world would be more free?
It doesn’t make sense. And this acquiescence to the status quo of suboptimal health is the driving force behind the crisis we’re all in. It is firstly an epidemic of poor health that has provided the necessary fuel to ignite a pandemic of the immunocompromised.
Collectively, we need to take responsibility to elevate our potential, not succumb to the idea that the majority of this country — and the industrialized world, for that matter — had it correct when it came to the best way to live our life. Achieving real health is no longer a fundamental part. Somewhere along the line it was drowned out by the voices selling us on the idea that it was best to do whatever it takes to get rich, gain more followers, and enjoy a hedonistic lifestyle without the thought of consequences. But none of us can realistically trade our health for wealth because if we do, we end up having to trade back our wealth for a chance to recoup whatever health we have left.
In a recent presentation, I asked those in attendance — mostly wealthy executive types — to define health. Most of them simply came up with “the absence of disease.” That’s sad. People think that health is simply not being sick. While that does play a part, it is unfortunate to think that this is the best that they could come up with because the absence of disease doesn’t mean you are able to live your best life. Not that I am a fan, but the World Health Organization (WHO) presents a more holistic view as it defines health as the state of “complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease.” This is definitely a step in the right direction but still doesn’t fully encapsulate everything we should strive for.
In my opinion, health is best defined as an optimal state of bodily movement and function, as well as emotional and physiological well-being, which inspires confidence to pursue a life of our choosing, free from limitations of dis-ease and dis-comfort, that ultimately provides us with the freedom to live the life we want. When we are faced with a choice of what to do, we need to keep this definition in mind. We need to ask, are my choices in line with the fundamental pursuit of achieving optimal health? If not, then we’re ultimately resigning our health over to companies, and governments, that are more than happy to take advantage of our lack of foundational health, who stand to profit off the false promise that by taking this pill or completing that procedure we will be able to live a life free from the responsibility of our poor choices. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. Our actions have consequences.
It is very difficult to achieve health within the same paradigm that made you unwell to begin with. It’s time to think different. It’s time to be different. It’s time to throw off the anxiety we have about the changes we need to make and simply do it. Get healthy. Be free.
332. crumbling is not an instant’s act
Most of the time people forget the lessons that historians and leaders would like us to remember. Whether it’s a natural disaster or a pandemic, each enter our collective consciousness as they arise, seemingly out of nowhere. Novel as they seem in the moment, they are often remnants of unresolved themes of the past we continuously fail to learn from and correct. We think this time it’s different, forgetting that even though history doesn’t repeat itself, it does rhyme.
After a flood washes out huge sections of oceanfront property, people rebuild their lives on the same spot. After this pandemic, it’s likely, people will go back to their old habits of taking their health for granted. Unfortunately, we have a culture that doesn’t remember because they’re blasted with a story that says this time it’s different, backed by a media portrayal that exacerbates a narrative that our way of life was right all along, while disregarding any clues that may have shown up along the way.
There’s a poem by Emily Dickinson called Crumbling is not an instant’s Act which shows things need to build before they can happen. It reads:
Crumbling is not an instant's Act
A fundamental pause
Dilapidation's processes
Are organized Decays.
'Tis first a Cobweb on the Soul
A Cuticle of Dust
A Borer in the Axis
An Elemental Rust—
Ruin is formal—Devil's work
Consecutive and slow—
Fail in an instant, no man did
Slipping—is Crash's law.
The emphasis on Crumbling is not an instant’s Act and Slipping—is Crash’s law is mine, as I think it poetically illustrates that things don’t simply happen out of nowhere, they take time. The bottom doesn’t just drop out, things have to creak, weaken and give way. It’s our choice to look the other way when we hear the squeaks. It’s our choice to be consumed by the nonsense of telling us not to pay attention to the clues. It’s our choice to be coerced into a false sense of confidence that is perpetrated by popular narrative, saying we are on the right path. But are we really?
We’re continuously assured that this time it’s different. This time it came out of nowhere. No one could have known. The voices of popular media seek to placate our worries by reaffirming our way of life is the correct one, yet, if that were true we would learn from our past. Instead we confidently walk toward a cliff, ignoring the signposts along the way that warn us of the upcoming drop. Then we’re surprised when we eventually walk off the edge.
So how do we change? If getting us to learn from our past doesn’t work because we’re too busy wrapped up in the now, lost in the blatantly false narrative of going the right direction, then how do we keep from repeating our past failures? Generally, the way people change their mind and thus correct their path isn’t because of a single lesson, it’s through a tumbling of dominos. It’s the same principle Dickinson reaches for with Crash’s Law. It’s a gradual shift. Built with awareness over time, until a crescendo eventually happens one way or the other. We either learn, or repeat our same mistakes.
The problem comes with who is controlling the information we’re receiving, the narrative, the ideas being sold because they’re all going to influence the questions we ask and the actions we take. The best way to create positive change to our situation is to become aware of what is going on around you. Look for the signposts. Each one is a domino falling. New information leads to new thoughts, which leads to new questions that evolve into new actions. There’s no fall without warnings of a cliff ahead.
180. life is what you make it
This year is the best example of the saying, “life is what you make it.”
Collectively, we’ve never had more downtime, nor more reason to improve ourselves and the way we do things. Yet, instead of taking advantage of this literal “once in a lifetime opportunity,” we squander the abolition of our old distractions by replacing them with new ones.
Old complaints of not having time to accomplish something were no longer valid this year, but did people get things done? No, they replaced not having time with another excuse.
The problem is not the absence of time, or need, or want, but the absence of responsibility to do what the fuck you need to do.
The constant complaint of “this is the worst year ever” is nothing more than people’s reliance on distraction and therefore absolving them from taking the responsibility to do the things necessary to improve upon their current situation.
For myself, this has probably been one of the best years of my life. Perhaps that is partly due to the fact that I am an introvert. Want me to stay home? Not talk to anyone? NO FUCKING PROBLEM. But at the same time that opened up a lot of free time that was not filled with Netflix binges, or being glued to the constant fear mongering bullshit of the mainstream media. My time was filled with doing the work necessary to be a better version of myself. Creating habits, healing old traumas, and always practicing a growth mindset.
None of this is to say that I didn’t experience my share of troubles. I found love and lost it all within a short window. Heartbreak is never easy. Coupled with the greatest tragedy of all — gym closures — and it would be easy for me to seek comfort in distractions. But, like I said, it comes down to mindset, and believing in the saying “life is what you make it.”
There is always a choice to make with how you respond to any situation. Choose wisely.
why can’t we get better info
Why is it that the only thing we hear about how to protect our health during this pandemic revolve around external precautions? Social distancing, masks, quarantining. There’s no ethical reason behind the lack of advice regarding diet and lifestyle. Unfortunately, it all comes down to the financial interests of large corporations who DO NOT have your health, or best interests in mind.
Bolstering health is relatively simple. Eat whole, unprocessed foods. Get outside in the sun. Move as much as you can. Sleep like you’re on vacation. And connect as much as you can with the people you love. Yet, none of this is talked about. Instead, we have things happening like governments deciding the best choice for our health is to CLOSE NATURE (beaches) while they leave McDonald’s open.
We were in a health crisis before this pandemic came around — obesity, heart disease, diabetes. It seems to me that if we had been having the correct conversations about health PRIOR to this, it wouldn’t be as bad. Wearing a mask is not going to make everything okay because all you have to do is remove it and shove some waffles in your mouth. What ever happened to wanting to be resilient in mind and body?
Part of this is taking ownership of the issues at hand, but I understand that most people only listen to headlines. Unfortunately, headlines are driven by corporate interests, not the wellbeing of the public.
The financial health of large industries, is more important than your individual health or longevity. As a matter of fact, the food industry directly objects calls for healthier guidelines. An example of this can be seen in a health report by the World Health Organization — composed by a panel of 30 experts from 22 countries. The conclusions were commonsensical: too much sugar and fast food are unhealthy. NO SHIT!! However, despite this obviously being sensible advice, a protest against these findings arose within the food industry. Actions by the Snack Food Association, Wheat Foods Council, Corn Refiners Association, International Dairy Foods Association, the Sugar Association, and many others, called for ceasing all financial support of the WHO by the United States. This was based on the grounds that the report was garbage science, not founded on any concrete scientific consensus.
There’s a reason we aren’t getting quality information regarding health and it’s because the narrative is directed by those who seek profit.