Paradoxes
Sorry I've been away from blogger... there are some house projects that must be done before the resumption of grad classes in a few weeks. But, that's a different blog entry.
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Any casual reader to my blog will understand that I spend an inordinant amount of time speaking in paradoxes. I talk about my rapidly advancing age while being only 31. I speak of needing to get in better shape when I am now in better shape at 31 than I was at 21 or 11.
While being lambasted for these paradoxes recently (by someone far older than 31 who bristled at the thought of 31 being "decrepit") I explained it thusly:
"What I mean to say is, I'm an old young person, not a young old person."
And such is the tragedy of life-sweeping transitions -- the mind often lags the body's evolution, for better or worse.
Through some of my hobbies I interact with people far younger than I and that makes me feel incredibly old. Through other hobbies, I interact with those far older than I and it makes me feel incredibly young. While my age has not (appreciably) changed, my perception of it fluctuates wildly based on my current environment.
Some other good Ed paradoxes? I used to weigh alot more than I do now, and none of it was muscle. In 1999 I think I maxed out at 5 push-ups. During my black belt test I did something like 92. At one point I was talking to someone about "the transition" and said:
"I used to be a thin fat person, but now I'm more of a fat thin person."
When my mom was recovering from her cancer surgery I made the observation:
"At some point, you'll stop being a sick person who has a few good days and you will start being a well person who has a bunch of sick days".
So, where exactly is this line that is drawn in the sand? Where is the point that we flip those adjectives? Most would argue that the point is in my head. And I would absolutely agree. It is in all of our heads -- it is our attitude. It is how we approach the world.
And why is attitude so important?
When I walked around with the excess weight, I said to myself "I'm a thin fat person" -- i.e. were you to drop me in a room with the clinically obese, I wouldn't look so bad. When I started thinking I was a "fat thin person" I noticed something was wrong. Stick me in a room with the clinically normal and I'm sticking out like a sore thumb. Did my weight fluctuate between those observations? Nope. But my internal drive sure kicked in once the new self-image took hold.
There's a common phrase, and one that I believe in very much: People rise and fall to your expectations of them. The one corallary to this that many forget is that the term "people" also refers to ourselves.
So... um.. there. I lead a healthy life by walking around complaining about how old, fat, and sick I am...
Grumpy too.
-Ed
--
Any casual reader to my blog will understand that I spend an inordinant amount of time speaking in paradoxes. I talk about my rapidly advancing age while being only 31. I speak of needing to get in better shape when I am now in better shape at 31 than I was at 21 or 11.
While being lambasted for these paradoxes recently (by someone far older than 31 who bristled at the thought of 31 being "decrepit") I explained it thusly:
"What I mean to say is, I'm an old young person, not a young old person."
And such is the tragedy of life-sweeping transitions -- the mind often lags the body's evolution, for better or worse.
Through some of my hobbies I interact with people far younger than I and that makes me feel incredibly old. Through other hobbies, I interact with those far older than I and it makes me feel incredibly young. While my age has not (appreciably) changed, my perception of it fluctuates wildly based on my current environment.
Some other good Ed paradoxes? I used to weigh alot more than I do now, and none of it was muscle. In 1999 I think I maxed out at 5 push-ups. During my black belt test I did something like 92. At one point I was talking to someone about "the transition" and said:
"I used to be a thin fat person, but now I'm more of a fat thin person."
When my mom was recovering from her cancer surgery I made the observation:
"At some point, you'll stop being a sick person who has a few good days and you will start being a well person who has a bunch of sick days".
So, where exactly is this line that is drawn in the sand? Where is the point that we flip those adjectives? Most would argue that the point is in my head. And I would absolutely agree. It is in all of our heads -- it is our attitude. It is how we approach the world.
And why is attitude so important?
When I walked around with the excess weight, I said to myself "I'm a thin fat person" -- i.e. were you to drop me in a room with the clinically obese, I wouldn't look so bad. When I started thinking I was a "fat thin person" I noticed something was wrong. Stick me in a room with the clinically normal and I'm sticking out like a sore thumb. Did my weight fluctuate between those observations? Nope. But my internal drive sure kicked in once the new self-image took hold.
There's a common phrase, and one that I believe in very much: People rise and fall to your expectations of them. The one corallary to this that many forget is that the term "people" also refers to ourselves.
So... um.. there. I lead a healthy life by walking around complaining about how old, fat, and sick I am...
Grumpy too.
-Ed
posted by Ed at 2:21 PM
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