(but this time it’s not about lotion)
September 2023
I get anxious about a lot of things. You would never know it to look at me. And honestly, you will likely never hear me say it when it happens.
But I do get it. And I do have thoughts. And these thoughts definitely tie into this (though it’s not about the lotion.)
It’s about how we all still think – this + that = this result – no matter the circumstances, timing, or the MYRIAD OF MILLIONS of other factors that influence a result.
I am currently in a health program – you know, eat healthy, move more, lose weight (hereafter known as “body composition.”) Granted and thankfully, the program is much more nuanced than that, understanding that stress, sleep, timing, genetics, etc play into your body composition.
Whew! Except…
I can’t help but wonder, why “health” is sold as a “make better choices, make it a lifestyle” when essentially, the world is out to make you unhealthy. As if you actually control the food that we are given (we aren’t and it’s petrifying. Another rabbit hole for another time.)
I was sitting through the “health swaps” and “here’s how to make a healthy plate” presentation. I’ve heard it and done it before and I know that it helps. I’m not arguing that.
But I started getting anxious and angry.
Because it’s another version of The Myth of the Magic Lotion. If you eat the apple, the asparagus, avoid the butter and red meat, THEN you will be healthy (lose weight, have energy, etc.)
Wait? You don’t believe me? Maybe you have proof, that…you mean, it doesn’t work?!
And this time, I can’t even say, it’s what is in us that makes the apple and the asparagus work.
Because, there is no guarantee that what we are eating isn’t harming us.
Yet, post after post, program after program, simplifies it into this simple protein + carbs + veggies = healthy (thin!) It makes me so angry (and anxious because I can’t just get up and start yelling.)
Yelling, that we are being fed a load of BS! That our food isn’t as nutritious (and has other crazy stuff in it that harms us) as we are led to believe.
That yeah, we have to start somewhere but making it sound that it is as simple as “healthy food in”, “perfect body out (because we are all still made to believe this even if we don’t want to, even if they are telling us ‘that’s not what it’s about.’)
BULLSHIT!
We know that it’s not that simple, yet, that is what we are “fed” with information again and again and wonder why we feel like we are “failing” on a regular basis.
This time, though, it’s about the food. It’s not magic but it does matter. A lot.
It is about how and when and what we put in our bodies. And all of that is at the mercy and convenience and greed of someone else somewhere making something up. I don’t care if you live under a rock. You know and eat what is available. And we all know that available means, “what manufacturers want you to buy.”
This seems manageable and understandable when it’s home goods or electronics. But when it comes to your health, it’s like we are cars running on 45 when we need to run on 89 minimum. Yet, that’s what is available, that’s what is standard and when you try to go off course…
God bless you – because that fight is damn near impossible to win.
It is The Myth of the Magic Lotion and The Myth of the Magic Diet. And the myth of so many other things claimed to be Magic and claimed to be THE WAY.
We all know it is BS, yet we all think that “This time!” Even when it is a guarantee, it fails.
The mirage around us is literally killing us yet we fall complacent and walk around in a dream state – half hoping to wake up and half hoping to never see the reality.
I’m anxious – I’m anxious because we are killing each other in so many different ways and not even realizing it. I wake up and then I fall back asleep, and wake up and fall asleep over and over again. I’m complicit just as much as the next person.
Not all doom and gloom, next week…hope…