fear and loathing in tater town
POTATO, PATATO, LETS CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF. NEED!!!… DESIRE… PAS
food addiction is a recurring theme on the balance site and in my students. the addiction to a food item. the seemingly incoherent need for a specific food product – candy chips, a burger from crappy-buggers-are-us – all seem to originate from a single concept / purpose / need: COMFORT.
that being said, it is a cheap and comfortable act to scarf down a pound of Cheetos and diet pop in front of your XBox or Netflix “sons of anarchy” marathon. yep, chewing a mouth-full of made-up food seems to be the universal panacea; perfectly acceptable in public (think of it as buffet, a license to be a glutton and be rewarded for that gluttony – the pudding bar is complimentary) or in private where we stuff ourselves till bedtime… alone and unseen… perhaps unjudged…
what to make of all this?
- is this a disfunction?
- a disease?
- a bad habit gone wrong?
- ignorance gone haywire?
yes to all the above, but mostly it’s education – or the lack of it. the idea of our body as being something important has never really been in the forefront of our collective consciousness. fitness is no longer a cornerstone of youth anymore… that is, unless it’s tied to some weird-ass youth league sport that breeds the young to become the next-best has-been. being active is not a thing anymore – nobody seems to think that running and playing and falling down and getting back up is an important part of the learning curve of use as a species. no drama, no special programs, just going outside to play is now last on the list of things that even flash temporarily across our eyeballs and gray matter. as for adults, forget it.
so how do i convey the loss of physicality and food as a fuel to living an active life? the major side effects from not moving are a slow shut-down of your system. in general: stiffness, soreness, irritability, the slow decay of all the important functions of your body. but most importantly, you lose a sense of self-respect about how you feel and look. the military recognized this long ago: to develop a person who is willing and confident enough to go into battle, you first have to develop a real sense of strength and confidence in handling any situation. a strong body will respond with a strong decision. a strong body will not give in to failure and will strive to overcome any negative circumstance. in other words, there is a definite lack among the overweight masses to feel that they can whup some ass!
earning / investing / trusting
as i have watched the world change over the years, there is a bizarre duality manifesting in the younger generation… which is to say, they seem to be getting smarter in using computers, but they are also disconnecting from the need to communicate with a live person or with their own physical bodies. this may not seem like a big deal now, but down the road it will cause big-ass problems. looking at food like we look at other things in our lives to acquire will only bring on bigger problems down the road as far as health and health care are concerned.
is there a point here? yep. STOP… just stop and think about everything you do on a daily basis that you do not pay attention to: for instance, what do you do as a routine in the morning? wake up and drink a diet pop and some chips out of the bag? hit the drive-thru with extra cheese and bacon on your breakfast nacho? or maybe nothing at all but a sugar drink from the coffee gods – extra sugar and extra shots yes please! now project a couple of years down the road: your clothes don’t fit. you don’t feel so good. you’re tired and unmotivated to move your ass anywhere but the couch.
contrast that with how much attention you pay to upgrading your computer or your phone. “need” a new laptop? you will investigate that exhaustively. but your body…no! new gamer stuff online? you’ll spend hours on figuring out how to beat all the other gamers. but walk to the corner and back? “who has time for that?”
judgement? no.
truth? yes.
answer? you’re here.
how? balance. RonMorrisBalance.com – keep reading on the site and learn how to balance yourself
result? a healthier and happier life, plus the next 100 visitors get – you guessed it – a box of frozen tater tots