The Road From Serfdom page 3

[70in2012]

Just perfect day.

Played in the park with my son. Walked around leisurely. Sipped coffe reading a book. Contemplated about life. Swam a bit. And cooked a fair bit.

Coconut beef curry, Cauliflower rice and a little pudding made of sweet potato, full fat cream and blueberries. Beef curry was yummy. Mildly spicy and aromatic. All in all a wonderful meal.

[70in2012]

Back to office today. That means sitting on a chair for long periods of time. That means, among othe things such as polite, pointless elevator conversations and "how was the weekend" chats by the vending machine, meetings, meetings and more meetings. That means bumping into more suit wearing people trying to lose weight and eat healthy by avoiding saturated fats and eating more whole grains. That means enduring people talking about their umpteenth new year healthy eating resolution. That means having to see, every day, sad, expressionless faces buried in FTs, iPADs and iPhones on the commute.

You get the idea.

I swam yesterday after a long break. 25 lbs less to contend with means more efficient balance and propulsion. Swimming is a perfect primal work out. Should i be trying the equivalent of sprint once in a while philosophy in swimming as well? I have witnessed the chronic cardio versions at the pool piling on lap count and it does not appeal to me. Any groks here who swim refularly? How do you approach it? How should we approach it?

Two eggs scrambled with some vegetables for breakfast. I am looking forward to the lunchtime quick workout.

[70in2012]

Delicious salad buffet at a restaurant i frequent for lunch. While the food remains excellent, service has somewhat deteriorated. High staff turnover was the excuse offered. Shame.

Too tired to cook in the evening. Took the shortcut out. Bought a foot long subway and threw the bread away and ate the rest.

Going to watch "Moneyball" before dozing off.

[joan]

good job altering food at hand to stay primal. swimming sounds wonderful - i think mark mentioned somewhere how you might do sprints in water... i'd search around mda for articles about it from him.

[70in2012]

Thanks Joan. I will look up.

***

A cold gray morning ushers in the day. I sat in a cafe and completed the book i have been reading for long. In the hustle bustle of modern life there seems to be less room for contemplation for the sake of it. We are always hurrying to do something. Activities, tasks, programs, sessions fill our daily calendar. Rarely, say, 30 minutes of silent contemplation with no agenda is set aside as an agenda. Some get uncomfortable if they are not continuously stimulated with superficial, simple emotions (TV is one great example of a device providing such a service).

I think general, purposeless contemplation is very much part of being human. I bet our ancestors did it. Not so long ago, contribution to art, sciences and mathematics came from all walks of life. It is not uncommon for a lawyer (or the equivalent) or a priest or a businessman to have serious indulgences (serious enough that they made "discoveries" and original contributions) in these fields.

It is quite intriguing that this aspect has become sort of industrialised (you go to university and pile on degrees before embarking on serious research OR just to be taken seriously). I am of the opinion that capacity for critical thought and analysis does not require long years of training at an university and that one acquires it at an early stage (and in fact, loses it gradually since it is not used as often it should be or could be).

As i sipped coffee and read my book today morning, it occurred to me that apparently pointless, purposeless contemplation is very much part of primal life. It ought to be as important an exercise to us beings as a pull up or a push up is. Perhaps more. Is there a fitness deficiency that you can attribute to in this regard? Why not? I come across people who accept dogmas unquestioningly without an iota of critical thinking. Are they unfit in the same sense as you would characterize someone who is obese and unable to do physical activities that are generally expected of them?

Perhaps we should contemplate once in a while, unfettered and not given to any dogma, aimless, critically, dreamingly, creatively and perhaps plain stupidly.

Good day to you all.

[70in2012]

Another good, full day.

3 eggs scrambled with onions and green peppers for break fast.
Couple of coffees during the day and a bit of leisurely walking.
Good lunch time work out (30 pull ups, 60 push ups and 90 squats; yes this is a SimplyFit routine).
Steamed Kale and chicken curry for lunch.
Cauli rice with lamb curry and fried lotus root for dinner.

Sleepy now. Started a new book - "My Last Sigh" by Luis Bunuel. Fascinating account of Bunuel's colorful life.
When i get time i would like to highlight some passages to fellow groks.

Pipe down.

[MikkiB]

I come across people who accept dogmas unquestioningly without an iota of critical thinking. Are they unfit in the same sense as you would characterize someone who is obese and unable to do physical activities that are generally expected of them?

I like this post and agree with you I'm lucky enough to work at a university medical center so I spend my days surrounded by pretty bright people, plus I'm working on my PhD so spend most of my life thinking thoughtful thoughts about evolution, genetics, and putting my puzzle pieces together. Then I go home and watch the news and wonder what the hell this world is coming to LOL. I don't think the average IQ has changed much over the last few thousand years, but we certainly have an unprecedented opportunity to be lazy and fill our lives with petty concerns and mindless stimulation!

[70in2012]

Hey Mikki, what are you working on? Or are you at course work stage?
I envy you PhD scholars. I know life is not always easy. However, the pleasures of seeking knowledge and discovery outweigh the frustrations.
That is one final frontier on my list. If all goes well I should be back in university in a few years.

[joan]

i'm with you. living out on the land this year, i got an INCREDIBLE amount of things done... in very few hours of 'work' per day. LOTS of time for contemplation, listening to birds, frogs, coyotes. learning plants and their uses. just time to sift through things and figure them out. when you're outside that long, all alone, it seems to become almost like dreaming in how the mind can loosen out and wander and sort.

[70in2012]

Indeed Joan. Our ancestors were in touch with the nature and very much part of it. I met one very interesting person during traveling (he was from Brazil, backpacking in India). He mentioned that much of his life he grew up and lived closely with nature. He could feel part of it (the trees, birds, plants, flowers, insects, etc as you speak of it) and he also said he could sort of detect the overall emotion (joy or distress). He could not really describe it. That is perhaps owing to language constraints. If you are that close, i think, you would not hurt it.
Much of the modern living is quite removed from it. I spend most of the time in a temperature controlled office building or a flat. Every thing gets transported to the place of my convenience (supermarket, restaurant). Now i think about it, i can see the disconnect and the reason why my immediate actions may not be nature friendly or sustainable to the ecosystem (because i am so far removed, i need to watch a documentary or read a book to understand the effects).