Death by consumption: Wasting away

For the last two weeks, I have been coughing and spluttering along with my daughter and I just can't seem to shake it. At work today my colleague heard my less than healthy sounding barking and said, "It sounds like you have consumption". I find it fitting, as consumption is probably the largest killer of humans today - although, not the type he was talking about, although it is still a top 10 killer.

Consumption comes in at number ten and is normally called, tuberculosis.

But, what we normally talk about regarding consumption today is our hunger for resources as consumers, and if you look at the top 10 killers, heart, pulmonary, stroke, lung cancer and diabetes are all closely tied to consumption also. Death from over eating, over smoking, poor nutrition and various other vices. We as a society are prone to consuming ourselves to death.

The hard wiring that keeps us searching for more is great in times of scarcity to keep us motivated, but in times of plenty it can be a curse as we keep eating volumes what our body has been designed to take, and things that it was not designed to metabolize. The amount of chemicals that we really do not know that much about in regard to long-term influence in our food, air and water is massive.

But, our food intake isn't the only killer as simultaneously we are becoming more passive and sedentary in our work and leisure, and while a small percentage of people are pushing the boundaries of the best their body can be, the majority are testing the limits in the opposite direction, me beig one of them - I feel.

My colleague questioned their partner for not exercising because they feel they will never achieve the physical results they want for the energy invested, because they do feel better for having done something. While the physical results might not be that significant (especially at first), the psychological improvement can be enormous and this affects feelings too, like self-esteem and confidence.

I have been thinking about my health a lot lately, and I have never been overly healthy nor unhealthy, but have suffered various severe ailments most of my life. However, just because I will likely never be in great condition physically, I do know that my going to the gym and eating better does make me feel better about myself and, this leads me to carry myself a little higher also. I also know that when I am exercising consistently and eating relatively well, my thinking has more speed and clarity.

So, why is it so damn hard to do what is right when we know that it will make us feel better, live better and of course, love better too? Love? OF course, because as they say, you can't love another until you love yourself first, and if one is full of physical and mental discomfort, it is hard to truly attend to anyone else in a healthy manner. At least, that is what I think.

Today we were talking about the idea of "love me as I am" and both of us disagreed with the sentiment that most attribute to the statement, which is to love me regardless of what I do. In my opinion, one of the most attractive thing is when someone spends effort to look after themselves, regardless of their actual looks and, I think one of the core components of a relationship is helping the other to be their best, through thick and thin. And most importantly perhaps, attempt to be ones best for the other person too.

This has nothing to do with looks, whether someone can bench 150 kilos or run a marathon, it has to do with a person's own respect for their body and mind. Yes, this is going to differ for everyone in process and outcome, but I think that the discovery and attempt is part of the journey that makes life worthwhile. And again, this is not just physical.

People can improve the way they function in all kinds of ways and one of the most important is that of emotional understanding, meaning the ability to control emotions. This does not mean to ignore emotions, that is avoidance, not control. It is about being able to observe and catch the emotion as it happens and decide on a reaction before the autopilot kicks in and takes over. Showing your emotions is fine, showing them unfiltered is the behavior of an immature tyrant.

I guess this has a lot to do with the examined life Socrates harps on about, but I have found those who do spend some of their attentional energy on self-reflection and discovery are also generally those who are socially attentive and bring out the best in those they interact with. However, those who do this nationalistically are among the worst, which is to be expected as it is looking in the mirror and then skewing the image to fit the opinion of the ego.

At least for me, spending time thinking and especially writing about these kinds of things helps me order some thoughts and as I process, gives insight into myself and the problems I (and likely others) face and motivates me to make changes. However small the changes might be, all the steps add up.

What matters is the direction in which we take them.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]