How I got over
New Year’s resolutions are so tiresome and unnecessary. But that won’t stop us from attempting one anyway.
Ahealthy mind in a healthy body” is an oft-quoted slogan, whose utter banality and pseudo-logic is offset by the slogan’s apparent catchiness, rolling as it does off the tongue like the chants recited by British hooligans at football matches or, further back, the crowds that rallied at Nuremberg in the 1930s. (The latter comparison is not as facetious as it may seem. The Nazis were certainly big on health and well-being. Even a cursory inspection of the propaganda materials Goebbel’s produced for the Reich’s “Strength Through Joy” campaign or Reifenstahl’s Olympia bears striking similarities with the advertising campaigns of today’s fitness products.) Of course, whether or not it’s true that a healthy mind can be achieved by having a healthy body is still in question. Any pronouncements of it being definite are highly suspect. After all, author Will Self pointed out as a singular achievement of English singer Morrissey, that “he is responsible for…encapsulating two hundred years of philosophical speculation in a single line: ‘Does the mind rule the body, or body rule the mind, I don’t know.”
Of course, the case for the unhealthy is also there to be made. For every mention of Haruki Murkami, we can offer names like Nietzsche, Kafka, Burroughs, or go as far back as probably Shakespeare. Angela Carter once noted, “The massive contribution the immorally unhealthy have made to our culture cannot be denied.” The same certainly holds true in local literary circles. In fact, they’re the only ones worth reading. Not a Derek Ramsey among them — and thank heavens for that.
Liz Taylor once said that, “The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they’re going to have some pretty annoying virtues.” (Not to say that the unfit cannot also be annoying but they’ve at least had the decency not to advertise their unpleasantness as virtues.)
Strength through joy: Today’s fitness advertising reflects the famous Reich slogan. Be wary of slogans or billboards. They can be bad for your health. Look upon as diversions or perhaps something to talk about when you’re stuck in traffic. Or regard them as obstacles to a clear view of the sky. Be entertained or annoyed but please don’t take them seriously. Don’t ever envy them.
If anything, try to be happy as hard as you can. Try to be comfortable in your own skin, no matter how much you have of it. Exercise won’t guarantee you great health — or necessarily make you happier. Also, use a condom if you can’t abstain but, remember, there really are no “zipless f**ks” in the Philippines. Not for women anyway. To not watch TV is sometimes even worse than never reading a book — just don’t expect it be to good for you. (Like junk food, it isn’t supposed to be.) Drugs aren’t necessarily bad, neither are guns but people usually are. Deepak Chopra did say he used to be an atheist until he realized he was God. (His capitals, not mine.) And, no, not all you really needed to know was learned in kindergarten. Did I forget to mention that Paulo Coehlo and Ayn Rand are trite and repugnant respectively?
“Life is a terrible, terrible thing,” someone long dead once said. The only resolution worth trying for in 2011 is to try and make the best of a bad job.
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Thanks to Lia, Gang, Jay, Leslie, Sir Cesar, Lourd, Quark, Luis, Denise, France, Ramon, Shawn, Michelle, Ely, Jun, RA, Lyle, Monra, Malek, Armi, MFM, Arvin, Mads, Jason, Pat, Mihk, Sarge, Gilbert, Bea, Tammy, Celine, Lou, Myrene, Earnest, Jiggy, Jonty, Gabbie, Jino, Yvette, Oli, Phil, Jako for making 2011 bearable. Very special thanks to Kathy for everything and to my dad for being there always.
For Je, Alexis and Dave.
