Looking Backwards

The major problem of extended lifespans -- is the notable failure of the expressive and cognitive  organs located at the extremities -- of the head, hands and feet, even while more centrally placed organs like the heart, lungs, digestive tract remain viable and intact.  However, when that disengagement occurs, the quality of life and living, is greatly compromised and limits the full enjoyment of every capacity.  That is particularly so with the functioning of the brain -- which of course, plays a major part of all functioning.  There is nothing that is not connected to it -- and thus should be recognized as the critical path upon which all functioning is dependent on.

Thus the curse of otherwise "healthy" modern life, is the failure at these extremities (articulations) -- usually labeled as arthritis at the hands and feet, and dementia in the brain -- particularly in those people, more susceptible to poor circulation to those extremities -- which can be greatly rectified, by using the musculature at those extremities -- to function as adjunct hearts dedicated to the purpose of increasing the flow from and to those areas -- of notably poor circulation.  Obviously, that contributes greatly to their dysfunction and disease -- when because of their genetic blueprint -- those areas are not serviced by the nervous and circulatory systems as a priority or even adequately, by practice and (pre)disposition.

That is not immutable -- but greatly influenced and determined by actual behaviors, exercise and conditioning -- because that (mental) functioning occurs not only internally -- but is manifested externally as well -- by the frequency of such movements -- or absence thereof.  It is the lack of this responsiveness, that is what distinguishes these conditions in such individuals -- that increasingly grows worse, with up to now, no remedies for their improvement.  They simply get worse -- because there is no improvement (movement) in their responsiveness.  At that point, many just do not care -- or act like it.  Again, that is the problem of diminishing responsiveness -- they act like they just don't care, or fail to respond appropriately -- anymore.

Yelling louder will not result in greater acknowledgement or compliance -- nor increasing the bar for appropriate responses -- as many unthinking demand.  So of course such people become increasingly frustrated -- that their demands go ignored, which may be precisely the response merited.  Eventually it becomes the way it is -- especially when the basic needs can be satisfied anyway.  That is the classic codependent relationship.  The more one can get by doing as little as possible for themselves, the greater that dependence will become -- at the expense of the remaining viable life.

That is the personality as well as culture fostered in failing segments of the population.  They don't get better -- and can only get worse, unless they take drastic action for their own improvement.  It cannot be done by others -- for them.  Yet it is the simple ability to turn their heads in a 360 degree rotation from left to right -- and back again -- that optimizes the circulation to the brain, as well as the musculature of the expressions of the face -- that characterize liveliness and animation (responsiveness).  Those features don't come automatically -- but are expressed and exercised by those who wish to optimize their effects.

People with winning smiles, practice it.  People with dour expressions etched on their faces, have gotten that way by practice and conditioning.  That should be obvious to anyone with the least consciousness of human behavior and expression.  But cultures can be in denial -- and even convincing, that everything is the opposite of what is plain and obvious to any observer.  Instead, they prefer to have "expert" opinion decipher and explain everything to them -- so nobody has to think for themselves.  It's much easier and more profitable that way -- even at the cost of many lives.  That would be the continuation of the status quo.

It doesn't matter how many lives are sacrificed that way -- as long as the status quo is defended and preserved.  Usually there is some person receiving most of the funding for this -- and the situation to get increasingly worse -- as long as they are "in charge."  That's what they're getting paid for.  Thus, they never want anything to change -- and they make a good living from the way things are, and hope to remain so -- for the foreseeable future.  That is their "job security."

So one must not depend solely on such experts who offer them no hope but to follow their advice -- even if it doesn't work, and offers them no hope.  For them to seek out any alternatives, they warn would be even worse -- because there is no hope, and one should not delude themselves that there is.

Life is not indefinite -- but there is always hope -- if not in this life, then there is the next.  But way before then, one has to do everything possible to improve in this life -- including trying everything possible to do so -- including the only plausible and sensible.  What can one lose?  One should have that attitude not only at the end -- but also in all the moments of one's life, because it is by having that attitude and understanding, that opens them up to all the possibilities -- especially the unthinkable and extraordinary.

But it always begins with a simple thing -- a simple movement -- that brings about the next, and shortly, takes on a life of its own -- that couldn't have been foreseen, from what one knew before.That is the simplicity of life and human evolution -- that life always returns to the basics and most fundamental things -- that were overlooked.  What capacities and functionality is most important to maintain and improve? -- even at 100?

Is that running a marathon or lifting the most weight?  Or simply the ability to say "No," to all that -- even in the most rudimentary way -- moving the head all the way to the left, and all the way to the right -- as the basic indicator of functionality and competence.  It's that easy, simple and obvious.  It is also the movement necessary to initiate movement at the most rudimentary level -- of turning the body from total immobility -- of the sort that inevitably results in bed sores -- from the lack of any movement off of the constant and unrelenting pressure points.

It is the same for lesser but increasing immobilities -- as the failure to turn over from a fall on one's back.  Then one is like the proverbial cockroach or turtle helpless on its back -- until it can muster a single burst of energy that turns them over.  That motion of the body is called "torque," or the twisting motion -- always originating at the extremity, called the insertion of that muscle -- because the insertion must always move towards the origin (base) in any contraction (movement).  That is to note, that the "core" will not move to the extremity -- but any movement has to be initiated at the extremity -- back towards the origin or core.

That is the critical understanding that most people lack of all movement -- that it has to be "fired" neurologically -- from the extremity rather than at the core on out.  Movement cannot happen in that manner -- because it is not hardwired to work that way -- no matter how many pushups or laps one does without that understanding.  Similarly, the problem of circulation is not critically one of going to the extremity, but coming from the extremity -- because there is no pumping action from the extremity to optimize the circulation -- no matter what its genetic predisposition.  So the solution is not to make the heart work harder and faster -- but to produce an alternation of the muscles at the extremity that evacuates the stagnant fluids accumulating at the extremities so that fluid can be revitalized and recirculated -- rather than allowing to buildup toxicities that destroy the oxygen sensitive nerve tissues -- eventually destroying the capacity to respond.

And of course, the situation becomes increasingly worse.  Thus if one were to prioritize those movements and capacities (organs) one wishes to to maintain and improve throughout a lengthy lifespan -- that is what one must do -- rather than all the superfluous activities that have proven are totally ineffective over time.   That is the only thing that will work with age.  One has to do the right thing -- and not just anything -- as though that were the same thing -- thinking there is no difference.  It makes a difference.  I doesn't hurt to start the proper practice at the earliest age one can think of it.  In fact, it will optimize improvement over a lifetime.

An Independent Life (Putting It All Together)

The most disturbing thing of people feeling a lost of control over their own lives and destiny, is the increasing reliance on "other people" to fulfill their basic (daily) needs.  So increasingly, they feel their lives are beyond their own control -- and all they feel they can control, is the remote for their television and entertainment.  They may even feel privileged and "progressive" to have reached such an advanced state of "interconnectedness" -- that they fail to realize they have become entirely helpless in living their own lives -- and are even advised to become even more so.

It is good business for those who provide their "services" -- for those who no longer can provide many of these things for themselves -- and increasingly lack the competence and confidence to do so -- which seems quite a perversion of how we think life should be for the best.  Early in life, they thought nothing less for themselves -- until increasingly reaching a point sometime in their lives when they experienced a definitive turning point -- and felt resigned to the kindness and mercy of others -- who could not resist the power of feeling others totally dependent and indebted to them for their continued existence.

That is the modern version of power -- just as these of an earlier time relished their power of life and death in the most brutal ways that now have become so subtle and insidious.  If we can make a whole category of people helpless, we have an unlimited source of customers for our own services -- and they never change so that they don't need us anymore.  They are our personal "cash cows."

One is simply the "pass through" -- for others getting paid (rich), while they never get better -- but only increasingly worse, and dependent on even more costly services.  That certainly distinguishes life at the bottom -- where those are regarded as expendable and disposable, and openly prey and exploit the most vulnerable, and not merely gullible.  In that scheme, the most "successful" regard themselves as the ultimate exploiter -- at the top of the the pyramid -- outsmarting all the others.

But real success is getting beyond all that dependency and co-dependency to become an "independent" person (mind) -- not thinking in such terms, but providing as much for oneself so others never need to consider doing so for them.  Such a life these days, seems almost unthinkable -- so reliant have many become on information and input provided for them -- disturbing the stillness and tranquility of their own minds in deference to the most intrusive and persistent.

Just as "scarcity" has been replaced by "abundance" in a generation, many have not made the shift to adjusting their strategies and orientation when the rules of the game have changed so drastically -- and the danger is no longer underconsumption, but overconsumption -- even to one's own destruction.  Thus, obesity and excess are the markers of advanced decline -- and the minimalist lifestyle of only what one actually needs, seems ingenious.

That is the new paradigm for this age -- and not that of the previous generation's -- of acquiring and accumulating as much as one can -- even if it risks burying them, as hoarders are wont to do.  Such people feel they are "dependent" on their possessions for their well-being and prosperity -- even as it "owns" them and dictates their lives.  As such, their whole lives can be seen as an "obsessive compulsive disorder," having little to do with meeting "actual" needs, and have become ritualized to where no deeper insight is possible.

Of course that is mental illness -- that many increasingly fail to recognize, or are taught not to see -- as all delusions are encouraged, as though that was a public good. That increases the "GDP"  -- the greater dependence.  It's good to be able to disconnect from the grid of predetermined choices and fates -- and write out one's own.  But one has to ensure that they haven't lost those capabilities -- in exercising them from time to time -- if not oftener.  That's how one knows they are still capable of doing these things for themselves -- and not have these memories and experiences merely planted in their heads -- as though they thought of these things themselves.  Or did they? -- and how will they know the difference?

The Power of Exercise

The biggest difference anybody can make in their own lives is to exercise -- because that is invariably the person they are.  Nothing else is possible.  You are what you do, and if you don't do anything, the results are obvious.  That doesn't mean that a person has to climb Mt. Everest (or the peak of their choice) to prove they are fit -- or die trying to do so. 

One just has to be able to do everything they normally do -- as best as they can, and maintain those capabilities as long as they live.  That's really a simple task -- made difficult by doing otherwise.  Usually, they get distracted onto doing things that subvert that health and well-being -- with the rationalization that it doesn't make a difference.  Thus they are convinced, and convince themselves, that things that matter, don't -- with disastrous consequences to follow.  For a while, they say they should have known better, but after a while, they make no pretense for falling apart -- with no will or skill to make it otherwise. 

Then the worst just happens -- and they are powerless to do anything about it.  For a few, that is the beginning of the end -- of increasing hopelessness and despair, and the feeling that they will ever master and be in control of their lives again -- as they might once as a young person believed.  Now those dreams are over, and they can only look forward to diminishing health and well-being -- because it is "too late" to do anything about it.  But so was every moment before then.  That is their conditioning, that is the "shape" they are in.  It is both physical and mental, and their whole adaptation to life.  That is the person they've become.

So how can one NOT become that person?  That is the difference between those who are succeeding and those who are failing at life.  One is the master of their own destiny, while the other is the victim in every other's path.  For these latter individuals, life is more about what others can do for them, and less about what they can do for themselves.  Inevitably, there is very little they can do for themselves -- which is the skill set they never acquired some time in their lives -- having missed the whole point of what life was all about.  They never matured, and blossomed into a free and independent person -- at some point in their lives, and preferably, in the best years of their life.

For most, that is the golden years, and the golden age -- of when they do.  Instead, they were too busy chasing finish lines and fulfilling bucket lists -- to have remained at home, taking care of business -- and all those housekeeping chores that the wise build their lives upon.  They were out chasing fame and fortune -- at least in their own minds, while their own foundations were crashing down upon them.  One wondered -- when if ever, they would ever awaken to that awareness -- which was the only thing separating them from the happy outcome they sought, while choosing to chase the wrong things -- even if only because "everybody" else seemed to. 

But was that truly "everybody else," or merely the false idols held up before them? -- all seeking that same, elusive fame and fortune? -- they would give everything they had, until they had no more to give.  Still, they could replenish the well -- if only they knew how.  That was not something they thought important to learn -- as they were confident there was always more where that came from.  In that way, the best often become the last -- trailing badly as they limp and hobble their way to the end -- thinking they would always maintain their advantage at the head of the pack.  They only knew how to win -- and when the winning stopped, they had no idea what to do -- and so they perished, or merely shrank into a shell of themselves -- rather than reaching a higher level with every passing phase.

Such people, only want to stay young forever -- rather than growing into each successive stage.  Those were the best years of their lives -- that they now merely want to relive forever -- even if only in their own minds.  Far better would it be for them to exercise the best version of their present selves -- as though that was all that really mattered.  That doesn't mean simply repeating the past -- as though that was the only thing that mattered.  Surely what matters now, just as any other time in the past, is finding out what one's present (actual) capabilities are -- whatever that might be. 

That knowing and discovery, is what is important -- at any stage, and condition.  That is discovering "reality," and to know that, is worth all one's fantasies -- no matter how lavish and glorious one thinks they used to be. 

Making the Best of Any Age

Younger people want to be older, and older people want to be younger -- so obviously, those who are happiest, are those making the best at whatever age they are -- and not wishing things were different before making the best of each and every present moment.

There are countless dysfunctional people who know exactly what they would do if they won the lottery -- but have no idea what to do under their present circumstances, and are not even going to try.  Instead, they will go into denial that things as they are, is trying to tell them something.  It invariably, is what they don't want to hear -- and deal with -- as the way things actually are.  So they go on to solve some other problem -- imagined or real -- to distract them from the present urgency, hoping it will pass and resolve itself -- as many problems will.

But that seldom gets to the root of the problem -- which causes it to reoccur, more virulently the next time -- until finally, "the shit hits the fan," and life cannot go on any longer in that denial and neglect.  Often, it is one of these famous incidents that become known to the public because of its violence and bizarre circumstances.  And the question that immediately comes to mind is, "What were they thinking -- if they were thinking at all?"

Often those reporting such events, don't first question the particulars of such bizarre events as the first line of defense for an unsuspecting and generally trusting audience.  They think it must be true or why would someone bother informing them of such a thing?  Sometimes they do because it is profitable for them to spread such misinformation -- if the truth won't sell.  Thus they prefer a falsehood that sells well, to a truth with diminishing customers, because once those people know the truth, they have no need to buy more -- of what doesn't work.

That is life in the small pond.  They have to sell more to the same people, rather than one to an ever-expanding universe -- who only need one.  But such products, change the world, and life as we've known it.  They are the products and services of a certain age and time -- that was the springboard for even greater products and innovations -- rather than allowing the same old problems, to simply persist and haunt humanity forever after, as the infamous age-old problems

But are they really the problems of age -- or something else -- something much more fundamental?  And that is the lack of understanding things properly -- invariably because that which was assumed to be true, were never questioned in the first place.  Even the thought of it, is mind-boggling and even insulting to those who thought themselves educated and rational.  What if those problems, are not caused by one's genes, but one's behaviors?  And so when one changes the behavior, those "genes" simply disappear -- or more accurately, are not expressed.

In much the same way, capacities that are never expressed, weaken and may finally be extinguished -- for lack of use, while less desirable traits, are reinforced as the person one has come to be -- and that is true at any age.  That is what we know commonly, as the "lack of exercise."  People are, what they actually do -- and not what they wish to become.  That is just the simple truth of life and living.  So it behooves one, to be that person -- who does that, and not simply know better while doing something else entirely.  And so the difference between the person they are, and the reality they wish to live, grows wider with each day.

Even doing only one thing repeatedly and constantly -- to the exclusion of everything else, will not make one more fit to do everything else -- contrary to what the promoters of that one thing as the only thing will tell us.  You have to do everything else, to be able to maintain those capacities.  That is particularly true with the most versatile and adaptable species -- that are capable of such a wide range of expressions and articulations.  What capabilities are necessary to maintain at at least a functional level all one's life?  That is what has to be maintained -- more than doing any one thing, however repetitively and exclusively.

That which we do most often, is that which is easiest to overlook -- such as sitting, lying, watching television, and compulsively eating, let alone the smoking and drinking with their well-known adverse impacts.  Yet admittedly -- or not, they account for fully 90% of our health problems, when the alternatives, are limitless.  It need not be difficult -- and that manner of thinking, makes it prohibitive -- while those barriers should be lowered as much as possible, to make the doing as effortless as necessary.  That has been the wrong-thinking -- or even lack of thinking, from those agencies and persons charged with encouraging the wider adoption of healthful behaviors.

Beginning is always the hard part.  Once a person has begun, momentum takes over -- and becomes difficult to stop.  So the question to consider offhand, is not how difficult it should be, but rather, how one gets one started -- and once started, should not be discouraged.  Even if done wrong -- because the practice inevitably becomes self-correcting.  "Practice does make perfect" -- as long as it is not made increasingly more difficult as a requirement of that performance.  That's how many go astray -- in thinking that the objective of any practice, is to make it increasingly more difficult.  In doing so, the practice becomes easy, rather than increasingly more difficult -- which should be obvious that one doesn't want.  Done that way, one will eventually have to give up such a practice -- rather than persist in it all one's life, as the foundation of well-being, throughout one's years.

Too many focus on the destination at the end of the journey -- rather than the beginning, which necessarily is the foundation of where one hopes to be.  If the beginning is undertaken, the prospects for that undertaking is auspicious -- over never having taken that first step.  That is the graveyard of most ambitions. Never getting started, never knowing what to do first.  All their energies are focused on what to do last.

The Basic Function of the Human Body (Being)

The most basic and fundamental function of the human body is to produce flow -- and when that ceases, the health of the body begins to malfunction and inevitably die.  So the quest of every individual, is to optimize that flow -- which is literally the lifeblood of health and well-being.

In every organism, that central and vital role is played by the heart (cardiovascular), but it is not the only organ system in the equation.  The other great role is played by the neuromuscular that directs the flow to wherever it is desired most -- as the expression of what it believes is important to do.

That is to say, that whatever is expressed (used), is that body's priority of everything it could be doing -- from virtually limitless possibilities -- as humans are the most versatile, nonspecialized of species.  However, specific individuals will be notable for their much higher degree of proficiency than most others, because of their particular genetic makeup, which to a lesser degree, can be emulated by the rest, as well as perfected even more by the gifted in that area.

Altogether, that contributes and manifests the richness of human societies and civilizations -- so remaining in that flow, is where one desires to be.  That brings new life, information and possibilities into an otherwise isolated and stagnant worldview -- both in the inner and the outer.  That is the meaning of being "one" with the universe -- that the individual life be aligned and a reflection of the rest of reality -- and not some vision apart from it, or in constant conflict determined to impose their unyielding view upon a constantly changing (fluid) world.

Life doesn't work so well that way.  But it is more than beliefs and ideology that makes it so.  Science is the attempt to make the explanation fit the reality -- and its failings -- rather than demanding that the realities conform with what one would like it to be, with no regard for the actual outcomes and experiences.

In individual lives, the essential question is whether one feels their life is getting better or worse -- and how that assessment is borne out by the observation of behaviors and appearances.  Therein lies the value of the gift of seeing oneself as others see them -- and not simply living in the fantasy world of one's delusions -- in which anything goes.

That's why we have competitions -- as well as doctors, teachers, and accountants.  They inform us what the score is -- and not that one is always the champion of whatever league he imagines to be playing in.  It's good to make that contact -- maybe even running for election, writing, creating something tangible, having an actual conversation, learning wholly new and different ideas, etc.  That is the key to remaining in the flow -- healthy and vibrant.  Once one grasps that concept, then it is easy to see why a body dies, and before that, becomes dysfunctional.  It is never used (exercised) in that way -- even if one did once, a long time ago.  That is not enough to keep one current, and in the flow.

So to properly begin the day, it is beneficial to actually move into different poses, postures and movements -- to review all those possibilities -- even if one does nothing else.  It is enough to know what one still can do -- in fact, and not just the thought and memory of it.  "Yes, I can do that" -- while doing something else entirely, or nothing at all, or merely understands what needs to be done but doesn't do it, is the beginning of that separation and fragmentation of reality, and is powerless.  The integration of thought with action, is the road to wholeness.  It doesn't have to be made difficult.  The movement itself has magic.  That is change.

One Day At A Time

A lot of people set out each day to solve all the problems in their life -- for the rest of their lives -- rather than just their most pressing problem, at any particular moment.  Obviously, that is putting the cart before the horse -- which doesn't work so well, if at all.  Problems arise one at a time, and not all the problems, at once -- diluting one's focus and attention.  Ineffective people, are those solving the problems of the past -- or future, while devoting no attention to the present moment -- which is the only reality that ever matters. 

Just talking with such people, is energy-draining, because one's attention and focus is constantly being redirected to the imaginary -- instead of the actualities.  It is their entertainment -- and only way they know how to be.  Their being, is becoming something other than they are.  And so the best advice for such people, is simply to be themselves -- and not the other they wish to become.  That is the genius, of knowing oneself -- rather than some other fantasy, of another they want to become.

Becoming other than they are, is the favorite "entertainment," of those who will never truly know themselves -- which is the highest attainment in any life -- to simply Know Oneself.  That really is the whole point of any life -- great or small.  It's not about the money, food, drink, or song -- but simply the awareness of the person one is -- and not what one wishes to think about themselves, or to have others think of them.  All that, doesn't matter -- not in the big picture, because they are just illusions and delusions that take one away from what they could be doing to actually make a difference in their lives.

Knowing those differences, is what differentiates the successful from the unsuccessful -- who can't tell that difference.  And that is why they are unsuccessful at everything they do -- because they cannot distinguish and discriminate the significant and important, from the insignificant and unimportant, and so are always doing the wrong things -- at the wrong time, thinking it doesn't matter.

They characteristically think that just doing anything, is as good as doing the right thing -- thinking nobody can tell the difference, and it is simply enough just to "look busy" -- and get paid the same as those actually doing something productive and worthwhile.  Needless to say, they miss the whole point of living and learning -- and simply grow old and more useless every day.  They may even think that the whole object in life -- is to get as many others doing as much for them, as they could be doing for themselves -- as the ultimate objective of their lives.

The supremely healthy individual, is one capable of doing as much for themselves as possible, and in that way, become civilizations and cultures in themselves -- by building their lives one day at a time -- as though everything mattered.  That is a life of significance -- because they have made it so, and not thinking that all in life is simply entertainment, and then they die.  That is the obvious danger of contemporary culture to many people, so bored that they think that the quest in life is for more entertainment -- while doing nothing of consequence to improve their own lives.

Of course such a thing is possible -- every moment of one's life -- taking it one day at a time, with attention to detail -- and leaving the great task of changing the world, to the delusional and bored.

As Long As You Get It Right Eventually

Few get it right on the first try -- especially on the monumental undertakings.  Usually it requires many attempts to get it working in the first place -- especially if it hasn't been done before.  Of course it is very easy to do the same old thing over and over again -- but doing something different, and new, requires practice and persistence to get it right -- when it's never been done before.  And that's what one wants to do in life -- accomplish what they've never done before.

It doesn't have to be climbing Mt. Everest and all those cliched bucket list entries.  It can be different things for different people -- and will be, depending on what is really important, significant and necessary.  Most people don't have the luxury of having everything in their life in order so that they can do what is purely arbitrary in their lives.  That only happens in schools -- where the arbitrary is made to seem as important as the significant.  In real life, all that matters is the truly significant -- and learning what that is.  Seldom does one know from the very beginning.

One invariably learns that with each attempt -- what is successful, yet what is still not.  For many, that is good enough, and all they settle for -- the first whiff of success, and not refining and fine-tuning the perfection -- yet at some point, realizing that is good enough, but not before.  Where individuals draw that line determines their quality of life with each iteration.  For those who are improving, it's never the same -- they are doing something different, to break new ground.

To the untrained (undiscriminating) eye, everything seems the same -- because they don't know what to look for, and at.  They see only the gross movement, and not the fine -- which makes all the difference in every outcome.  It is what is known as the follow-through -- when most have stopped long ago, and some have already quit and gone home.  All those people know, is that they got home on time.

Those who go on to be ultimately successful, are those who are the last to leave -- leaving no stone unturned in their quest to discover all that can be discovered.  That is what drives them -- and not the clock.  And it doesn't matter how many times they get it wrong -- they keep trying to get it right, and that is what matters.  That's how they lives their lives -- to the very end.

That may mean reinventing life as they've come to know it -- but survival and thriving is much more important than maintaining whatever status quo is now failing.  Life is not permanent; it is dependent on the successful adaptations one makes all their lives, every single moment.  There is no happily forever after -- but happily for each and every moment won anew.  That is the best that can be done.