The Human Condition

Life is unordained chaos. From the depths of its maelstrom, existence randomly catapults countless projectiles at our very being without a chance to duck. From the arsenal of our innate coping mechanisms, we might choose to flee or fight the situation, or perhaps feed or fornicate with the tempting encounter. It all depends.

The more advanced among us might forego the simplicity of first-degree animal reactivity. We don’t live in the jungle anymore, after all. Most modern-life missiles aren’t going to cause immediate harm to us. This gives us ample time to ponder, evaluate and analyse ourselves to the ground over a plethora of insignificancies we can’t distinguish from more pressing things.

Take identity. It is perhaps important to circumnavigate ourselves in relation to everything in order to create a safe haven inside where we can deal. We become an entity, and we defend ourselves against life’s disappointment, rejection, sadness and anxiety, all the while cherishing joy, recognition, belonging and love.

That’s as good as it will get. The problem is that for all the good and bad, terrific and horrifying life has to offer, things average out over time, approaching the mundane and decidedly flat. Life, in all its randomness, tends to be boring and unglamorous, interspersed with various peaks and notches.

Unfortunately, human entities are afflicted with a conviction things will, against all odds, get better. We will all be beautiful, ethereal white swans after we come out of our temporary grey ugly-duckling phase. If this doesn’t seem to happen on time and life remains deflated or deals out a bit too much disappointment, rejection and emptiness, we decide we are broken and must be fixed.

This is a false notion, one that we can’t see for what it is: bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. It should also be mentioned that bad things happen to bad people, much like good things happen to good people. Indiscriminately, out of the chaos. There are more pressing things to worry about.

It doesn’t stop us from searching for answers we already have decided are there, disorders we yearn for to classify ourselves as. Our identity is enclosed by what we see as symptoms of our illness. We are licensed to be broken.

Yet we fail to see in these ample, insignificant ponderings that our recurrent ’symptoms’ - confusion, loneliness, anger, attachment – are the illness, indeed ourselves.

We lack constant radiance and determination, positivity and success, accompanied by peers who cherish us for who we have decided we are. We receive recognition and nurture for our perceived ills. It takes the pain away, the pain of the human condition. There is no fix for it.

Fat Loss Troubleshooting 101

January is well on its way. Hordes of folks have decided to better themselves until at least February, which is luckily only a few more weeks away. To better yourself, you need to lose fat. Maybe work on your self-esteem issues, too. But first and foremost, you need to lose fat. It is a surefire way out of your troubles.

Technology Schmecknology

Word has it I live in an information society. This means I am constantly able to connect to networks that contain data I can choose to do something useful with. To this end, I need accompanying technology both in the form of software programs and a box that contains them, and a need to know why I choose to know of anything on offer.

Diet as a Dogma

Eating is awesome. Food provides us plenty of energy to survive lesser times, like late Wednesday afternoons at work when the vending machine is broke. Eating is further a sensuous and physically pleasurable experience. Like the need to fornicate, the need to eat reminds us we aren’t too far removed from our furry animal cousins.

Five Ways To Deal With A Hangover

It is not called the silly season for nothing. Big part of celebrating the coming Christmas cheer consists of conscious consumption of copious cocktails that cudgel the cranium like a cosmical cricket bat. Phew. And the next morning, hangover kicks in.

‘Real Women Have Curves’ And Other Numericals

Life is not possible without making statements based on personal biases. Our judgements range from insignificancies like pointing out it is a nice day outside, to telling the world oysters are disgusting. (Oysters are disgusting! I’ve eaten them!) Judging everything helps us define ourselves amidst chaos, which in turn aids in finding like-minded people to reinforce our standing at the expense of others. 

Hope Is Not Rocket Science

Hope makes people feel better. It hints at a positive future, success at one’s own endeavours, a spark of light beaming through darkness. Little blobs of hope invariably bubble up each time something, anything, feels right. The sun shines today. Perhaps it will shine tomorrow, too. There’s no proof, but it might happen.

The Laws Of Average

‘Average’ makes people snort in derision at its assumed nothingness. The term implies being like everyone else, especially your next door neighbour. Being average is to be avoided at all costs in favour of something more daring, like being unique. Too bad we all walk around with our own set of DNA that makes us indefinitely different from anyone else. Being unique is as average as it gets.

Set Smart Goals For A Successful Life

People love to set goals. The more far-fetched and out of their range of competence, the better. They delight in designating a destination, then figuring out the path to triumph, followed by the process of actually muddling through to the second pit stop where they ka-splat and then try harder.  If there is no goal, it is mandatory to set one. Otherwise, life is not worth living. 

The Happy Scales Number

Women and weight loss is a subject that refuses to die. Each time a new post emerges from the ether, it either wallows in confused self-castigation or informs the sisterhood to take pride in their weight. Sometimes, people attempt to dig deeper into the actual hows and whys of the phenomenon. Mostly, though, the subject is consumed as plain social pornography for its own sake. We read it, feel a tingle, absorb every abusive bit and then go back for more.