the lost man chronicles
79. putting movement back into your life

Everyday we are faced with a decision, we can either succumb to kinesthetic entropy or we can make the more natural choice—and move.

The comforts and conveniences of modern life, along with the demands of acquisition and possession that subsequently monopolize our attention, together engender a passive consumption which increasingly is leading our society into the woes of apathy.

Industrialization, advances in communication and other technology cumulatively allow us to accomplish more by physically doing less.

Exercise, albeit inherently good for one's health, is still contrived and truly not the preferred mode of momentum which keeps us most healthy, happy and wise.

No, the best form of motion is integral to everyday activity such as household chores, walking to the store (instead of driving), taking the stairs, raking leaves, picking up sticks, or any other means of work or play which has us up and out of our chairs or off the sofa.

After "working" all day most of us who push information for a living are far too apt to readily lament any true labor. Let the neighbor pick up that piece of stray litter, let's have it delivered, oh, I'll change the light bulb next time. Woe is our lethargy that compels us to put off till the morrow what we can quite facilely accomplish today.

It is no wonder that this society is so overwhelmingly overweight. We are not only exceedingly gluttonous, but we are also simply too lazy to move. And even when we begin to wreak the havoc of having super-sized everything or we begin to notably rot within, we are still liable to take the easy way out—diets, creams, surgery, spandex, and any assortment of desperate measures sold on late-nite TV. It seems as if the only truly endemic remedy would be for everyone to be drafted, if only to instill a some basic sense of discipline after a few weeks of arduous boot camp.

So, in addition to not jumping at the suggestion of adding a few fries "for just a quarter more," it would benefit one and all to explore the old-fashioned notion of being in motion. Everyone should make an effort, especially when she does not feel like it, because walking to the freezer for the Haagen-Dazs and back to the couch for more of your favorite show just won't cut it in the (rear) end.

Moreover, there is an inexplicable meaning in action. Moving can magically make life more meaningful. Like the euphoria many athletes experience, not only can such activity enhance our health, allow us to purge ourselves of unwanted spirits, and engender mental clarity, but motion instills positive energy. Moreover, movement is one of the most natural means people can pursue a profound understanding of one another. For as stigmatized as sex can be in our culture, it has also always universally been the purest means of intimacy.

Last week, on September 11, Phoenix firefighters commemorated the tragedy which befell our nation two years ago by climbing 40 flights of stairs in full gear at a local bank, the tallest building in Arizona. It was an all too appropriate tribute to those who perished while working, on a job which remains one of the most meaningful today. For little else is as significant as when you are consistently willing to forfeit your life for the sake of others, a life which is at risk because it is required to be in motion.

So, next time you have a little free time, consider something other than plopping down in front of the TV to ladle another pint so thoughtlessly. Do something physical that does not necessarily require that you go back indoors and into a gym. If anything, just take a walk. And by simply thinking before you eat, and making movement a quintessential part of your life, you'll soon notice how easy it is to keep trim and happy as you want to be.

- Desde hace cincuenta y cuatro años que habito este planeta, sólo he sido molestado tres veces... La segunda vez fue, hace once años, por un ataque de reumatismo. Me falta ejercicio. No tengo tiempo para moverme. Soy una persona seria.
~ El Prinicipito, Capítulo XIII: La Planeta del Hombre de Negocio, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry






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