body and mind
Jun. 11th, 2005 10:34![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
piranhai posted this as a comment in ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
aquaeri's journal, where she was noodling about the "3 things you like about your body" meme that's going around.
in principle i don't like my body. it's the wrong body for me. and i am not just talking the wrong sex. it's, well, human. too big. can't fly. :)
and i really like my mind. i think it's amazing. i'd be ok confined to a wheelchair or bed as long as my mind is still working well and i have access to intellectual stimulation.
i do, however, not suffer (much) (anymore) from mind/body duality. i am very well aware that there would be no mind of mine without this body as a foundation, and in that regard, practically, i like this body because it mostly works amazingly well. my biggest physical problem is the depression. no, i don't view it mainly as a "mental" problem. it's a chemical imbalance. physical activity does nothing to improve that; in fact vigorous physical exertion ( = me overdoing something because it's exciting at the time) seems to make things worse. i never feel better after exercising (even when i don't overdo it) like so many people say they do; maybe my endorphin mechanism doesn't work.
exercise to me is a waste of time because it is so b-o-r-i-n-g, and i can't bear to do boring things when there are so many more interesting things out there. physical activity as side effect of doing things that are not boring (eg. hiking in beautiful surroundings, or gardening) is acceptable, and i count it as a good thing because it helps keep the body working reasonably well.
i can't (easily) pick 3 things i like about my body because i don't view it as a collection of parts, but as a machine. if i were to pick, it'd probably be from the point of admiration for the engineering of a particular system. like, hands are SO awesome. i sometimes just stare and watch mine do stuff. and when i realize i am staring, i think about my eyes and what a nifty design they are (though i'd really like more of them). my top pick would probably be my mind. :)
aquaeri's journal, where she was noodling about the "3 things you like about your body" meme that's going around.in principle i don't like my body. it's the wrong body for me. and i am not just talking the wrong sex. it's, well, human. too big. can't fly. :)
and i really like my mind. i think it's amazing. i'd be ok confined to a wheelchair or bed as long as my mind is still working well and i have access to intellectual stimulation.
i do, however, not suffer (much) (anymore) from mind/body duality. i am very well aware that there would be no mind of mine without this body as a foundation, and in that regard, practically, i like this body because it mostly works amazingly well. my biggest physical problem is the depression. no, i don't view it mainly as a "mental" problem. it's a chemical imbalance. physical activity does nothing to improve that; in fact vigorous physical exertion ( = me overdoing something because it's exciting at the time) seems to make things worse. i never feel better after exercising (even when i don't overdo it) like so many people say they do; maybe my endorphin mechanism doesn't work.
exercise to me is a waste of time because it is so b-o-r-i-n-g, and i can't bear to do boring things when there are so many more interesting things out there. physical activity as side effect of doing things that are not boring (eg. hiking in beautiful surroundings, or gardening) is acceptable, and i count it as a good thing because it helps keep the body working reasonably well.
i can't (easily) pick 3 things i like about my body because i don't view it as a collection of parts, but as a machine. if i were to pick, it'd probably be from the point of admiration for the engineering of a particular system. like, hands are SO awesome. i sometimes just stare and watch mine do stuff. and when i realize i am staring, i think about my eyes and what a nifty design they are (though i'd really like more of them). my top pick would probably be my mind. :)