26.7.07

Life Is Movement

"The fundamental phenomenon of all organic life is change of form (or movement), sometimes so slight as even to evade the microscope." - Eugene Sandow

Stagnation of any kind inhibits progress and growth. Stagnation of mind, and of movement. Thinking back many years ago, it seems that we are all naturally lazy, as a species. Over time, especially the past 50 years or so, technology has adopted many of the chores that we were so used to doing.....food, travel, entertainment; all provided by money and technology. We are often hearing of the growing crisis of obesity and illnesses, especially in western countries. While many in the west are dying from eating too much, others elsewhere are dying from not eating enough....pretty crazy i think.

China is a good example of how modernisation is changing people. With a change in power from chairman Mao and Communism, there has been a rise in expendable incomes. Rates of obesity and coronary disease in China are growing because people now have more money to spend on luxuries such as cigarettes and more food.

Back to the point though, movement is the producer of change and progress. Modern, western society is encouraging less and less of our own efforts for movement because it offers alternatives which are initially more attractive. We don't actually have a need to say a active anymore because we have everything provided for. Money and technology have replaced movement.

Physical movement is expendable for everyone now, as is the need for religion. I am not religious, but I think that a lot of people really need to think about what is going to happen after they die. For a lot of us it is TOO comfortable, compared to what life WAS like or IS like as the case is for many in the world. No one really has to think about what will happen after they die because everything is catered for here, we are distracted. I think its pretty crazy to think that there are still people alive today who were involved in a global war just over 60 years ago.....60 years is nothing! If we were thrown into that situation now, I know that I would be thinking outside of this life a bit more. I am saying this because I think its too easy to get on with this life and forget about after. I am trying to find definite ground for my beliefs on what is and what isn't going to happen after I die so that I don't have to be terrified of death when it comes. Basically I think that people should take time to think seriously about things outside of this life, because its too easy to forget about it and get on with what is currently happening, even if it is all short lived in the grand scheme.

As for physical movement, like a stagnant pool of water infested with mosquitoes and bacteria, this is what our bodies can become if we mistreat them. They need to be active! They need to be fed well! The human body is incredible and can take a lot of punishment, but inflicting this punishment on the self by misuse (or no use) is ruining something which has so much potential for giving happiness. Anyone who looks after themselves and exercises knows how much of a pleasure it is to feel the benefit of their efforts and to use their body. As Sandow says, 'the spirit or soul that occupies a bodily dwelling filled with the divine music of health makes a little heaven on earth within its own body'.

As Williams Belle from the Yamakasi Generation documentary comments, the true and best things are so close, too close for many to even see! We have concepts of happiness pushed onto us by advertisements and consumerism, but the simplest and most free things are always the most rewarding in my opinion. Using your body to move and making it something which is enjoyable to use and reside in (depending on your metaphysical beliefs...) is so simple and something which we always have. The body has so much potential and is such an obvious vehicle for happiness that many are blind to this! External things such as products and lifestyles etc are more visible because they are pushed in our faces.

"Man was ordained to wrest his food from the earth by his own muscular power, and his muscular system was given him for that purpose, and also partly to convert his food into motive power by digestion and assimilation...It is as if the Creator wound up the clock of Life and handed us the key in the shape of a muscular system, which has been given us for re-winding it again from time to time, so as to keep the 'works' of life going smoothly, and enable the 'clock' to show correct time throughout life".
- 'Life is movement or the physical reconstruction and regeneration of the people' by Eugene Sandow.

3 comments:

  1. Hey Jin, you seem to be getting quite philosophical here. Wicked! I enjoyed reading this:)

    PS. hope you've recovered from the recent cat crawling!

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  2. great post!

    Its funny how far removed we are from other cultures in terms of physical movement being a necessity.

    I wonder if in western culture, less and less of those traits will be passed to future generations, resulting in weaker and less active humans.

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  3. Hi,

    You post touches on something I've been thinking about and trying to write about. And it does so in the same molds I hoped using. Instead of saying that those are my thoughts exactly, I will just say that you found a nice way of saying something I believe in.

    Cheers, good luck with your crawl!

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