We are bombarded nowadays, almost nonstop about the need and absolute necessity of doing any possible kind of physical activity, whether it is walking, running, (The iron man triathlon for example is highly glorified), going to the gym (at least few times a week), swimming, Pilates, yoga, dancing, any sort of sport, (from tennis to rowing, surfing etc.).
It doesn’t really matter, as long you make yourself move, the more, the better.
New researches are popping up very frequently, proving us how essential and absolutely vital it is for us almost in every aspect; beginning from health and longevity, and up to having happy marriage and satisfying and fulfilling life.
If you tell anyone about any kind of exercise, sports, swimming or the like – almost all of them will congratulate or flatter you in one way or another.
But, but if you would not only dare to admit that you are not engaged in any of them, but also, god forbid, that maybe you might not have any intention to do it – the response of most people would probably be: a shock, disbelief, which would be followed, almost immediately – (with the best intentions and care for you of course) – by preaching about the great importance of it, trying to convince you to be begin some physical activity as soon as possible.
In fact, trying to view it from the side, uninvolved, as though one just arrived from outer space, it seems like a very weird mass phenomenon and definitely not as a logical general conviction, which is reasonable, and therefore many independent free individuals would do well to
Include it in theirs set of priorities.
In fact what we are witnessing looks more like a kind of massive brainwashing, wrapping you from every direction possible.
Now from the other hand there is a simpler and more logical explanation to what i just described.
The explanation would probably be in the lines of the great increase of the scientific ability and research (which we didn’t have only some years ago) that investigated many and varied fields of our lives and what was found almost in every field, (with no apparent connection between them) – is that steady and ongoing physical activity is very beneficial in many of this this disconnected fields.
Now, this sounds not only very logical but also very convincing, (and thus no wonder that we witness the great flourishing of all the physical activities that were mentioned here before.
And now to the thesis of the author of this essay/article;
Point one; animals.
We don’t witness any animal engaged in physical activity, not to say exercise, of any sort, unless they are either running after or from possible food, or moving towards drinking water.
This are their main activities (unless there is an emergency of some sort). And i don’t know of any veterinarian who will diagnose a sick or depressed duck because it is not moving enough.
(Dogs are another story, they are domesticated and therefore i don’t wish to get into them).
Point two; my thesis
Human beings suffer from all kind of sociological problems (the reader is advised at this point to read my essay on the ground breaking works of the sociologist: Emile Durkheim). Some of the problems are because we all live in an industrial-consuming Society. Extremely competitive. Worshiping success as a desired goal. With a great increase of population density. And the growing of dense traffic jams, growing alienation amongst people and much more.
And all this is causing great stress, anxiety and an overload in the packed emotions which we cannot possibly get reed of other than sex, (which is getting monotonous and loosing with the years its ability to release overload).
Now, what is all this terrible description of sociological city life has to do with the great pressure put upon all of us to do all of those strenuous physical activities?
Well, everything!
We are overloaded with stress we can’t possibly live with and cannot get reed off.
It is making our inner life and relationships to be a stressful hell.
So what to do when you are overloaded with so much city stress you could not possibly live with internally anymore?
Well the solution is to get at least some of it out by continuous physical activity and don’t you stop, otherwise you would be swallowed by it
Gabriel