Vendors that work with my company often take this time of year to send platters of food and desserts as a little thank you for our business. The office and shop flock to the kitchen for the free grub and most everyone is happy. That is all well and good ... unless you were recently diagnosed with diabetes like your old man was. I am currently down to 271.8 lbs (which is only .8 down from last week as I start to plateua) and struggling! More importantly, I still have that sweet tooth and those cookies look so good and my sugars have been averaging 150 but that is usually before meals!
As I sit there mustering my will power as I stared wantingly at the office kitchen table, I pondered the question as to why the human body sabotages itself. In my youth, I was told to work with nature instead of against it. I took that as a steady hard truth to plan every action. Work with nature, ALWAYS! It is easier to roll a rock down the hill than carry it up, right? It took me many years to realize that nature is neutral and you have to pick and choose when to work with it and when to work against it. It took me many years to realize that if you always work with nature, all your rocks are down at the bottom of the hill.
In my predicament today, nature is devastating! Nature, my body, instinct is saying, "GO AHEAD! SUGAR! YEAH SUGAR! EAT! EAT!" It is like the natural order of my biological system is to stock up sugar for the next great depression. My arteries have become a sort of biological prepper-like sugar silo! My own body and mind has revolted against me and I must dig deep down into my soul to resist.
This kind of sabotage extends throughout the human experience. We, as humans, crave what is bad for us. Many will gravitate to a sedentary life. Not good for the body. Many will flock to the most entertaining, but often least challenging, forms of entertainment, Not good for the mind. Many will take personal gain over doing what is right. Not good for the soul. And all this is, at least as I understand it, human nature. Human nature is actually really shallow and hedonistic. Only by holding ourselves above these natural base instincts, can we hope to survive and thrive. Take a walk. Read a book. Do what is right even if it is hard.
So, as you grow and when I inevitably repeat the trite and tell you how it is easier to work with nature than against it, simply ask me, "What if nature is trying to kill you?" then prove your support for the natural way and stop working on whatever project we started, go lay on the couch, and throw on some youtube of pratfalls or something. That will teach me for blindly passing on a cliché like some people repost fake news on social media.
Sincerely with love from your dad,
Leo
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