This is both tough and wonderful news. On the one hand, maintaining a body for 80, 90, 100 years—if you’re lucky—is no easy feat. On the other, it’s a privilege—and still a temporary job. What’s a few decades of eating well, sleeping enough, and exercising a bit in exchange for a lifetime of activity?
I’m in my mid-30s now, and my body is already much less forgiving than it used to be. A toenail infection turns into a year-long recovery project. If I don’t watch what I eat like a hawk, I blow up like a balloon, and even if I do, my weight might stay the same but somehow still wander into my belly. Little ailments take more work to address, and I guess that “gig” will grow a bit bigger every year from here on out.
Some Eastern philosophies do not separate between mind and body. It’s all one unit, they believe, and that’s why visualization can help cure a disease, just as a cramped ankle might block your flow of creativity. Whether you also subscribe to this theory or mainly care about your fingers as tools for typing emails, don’t actively grind your frame into the ground before you’ve completed your life’s painting.
A body may only be a shell, but it still needs to last a lifetime—and that deserves careful consideration.
