I’m a Machine

I was recently on a search committee in which candidates presented on muscles. To be fair, similarly I’ve been on others in which all manner of curious biological functions were covered. I’ve learned so much from these! Our blood recycles. Our muscles do a lot of stuff in an instant that I take for granted. Chemical reactions are what we’re made of…Makes me want to retake all the life sciences again.

Likewise, I had a biology prof for an office mate some years ago, and I learned a great deal from him, too. I sure it became annoying, but I would come into the office practically every day with a new curiosity or question. Why do we sweat? What are lymphatic systems all about? What’s it matter if all the bees die?

I also am an armchair student of history, and like all of you, I marvel at how silly it now seems to use leeches in treatment of ailments. It seems odd that we perceived our health to be dependent upon humors.

It is no surprise that Fall is associated with Black Bile.

Even though “facts” are always in flux, we now know so much about the human body!

What’s a greater surprise, however, is that we DO NOTHING about it. Oh, there are a few do-gooders out there who eat right and exercise, but everyone I know still consumes stuff that’s not good for the body. From what I’ve read and heard, I have eaten toxic levels of candy, just this past week.

I wonder what it would be like if we were able to completely ignore all manner of consumerism and fad and flavor of the month and just listen to our bodies and feed them just right. How would we live differently if we lived the way our bodies really want us to? What preventive maintenance would we conduct to make sure our machine did not fail us? (Yes, last week’s post was on poor design, and that could be a conversation here, too.)

It would be a great piece of speculative fiction to write up this fictional being that did everything right. Maybe generations of people doing everything right might course correct for the generations of bad diet and lifestyle that we’re currently inheriting.

I’m probably getting to this because I’m reckoning with mortality and kicking myself that I never applied my “Lifetime Fitness” course content. I haven’t bought into a Long Term Health Care plan, either, for that matter.

Maybe those people who drink kale and beet smoothies are onto something.

Anyway, I urge you to take up an interest in anatomy and physiology. It’s really that one topic we all have in common—for the most part with most animals, in fact. It would make for great cocktail party conversations (better than sports scores) because its a topic with traction.

I’m going to google some great (easy to digest) documentary on the human body. I’m going to keep asking ‘stupid questions’ of my colleagues. I’m going to figure this thing out that carries my conscience around in it.

I’m going to stop raging against the machine and instead do what I can to keep it running smoothly.

“A few dabs of oil, and I’ll be fine.”

Surprised Tin Man x Thomas Hawk