What's the line, "I drink to make other people more interesting."
Claiming that a few glasses of wine ruined three days of your life just proves a total lack of resiliency. Jesus... not to old man this too hard but when I was in my 20's... about 25-years ago, we'd do coke for three days straight and kill I don't know how many bottles of bourbon. And THEN we still went to work on Monday.
Now, pushing 50, yeah, sure, I'm a little more moderate in things. My wife and I have found actual joy in some degree of working out and living healthy. But you'll still only pry my bottle of Maker's Mark from my cold, dead hands...
I read this with some interest because I have noticed how utterly boring this whole trend of "wellness" is. I mean, at 52, I am no longer the speaker dancing bar star I was in my 20s and partial 30s (shhhh, I loved it and regret NOTHING) but I still love to party when I feel like it. I don't really understand this whole need to live like a monk thing and heaven forbid I cut loose.
Also, I can hear people clutch their pearls when I read your sentence "I drink raw milk" - personally, I don't drink any milk because it makes me ill but I can hear the freak out at the words raw milk.
Oh, yeah, people get very triggered anytime I mention raw milk! (Also, the responses to this piece are so funny to me. Here on Substack, most agree with me. On Facebook, people are…. FREAKING OUT. X seems pretty normal/even in their responses. I suspect Instagram will be on my side.)
Facebook people do love their freak outs. I am starting to feel like it is a cottage industry over there. Also, I am not sure why they don't see that being addicted to health and wellness is just another form of addiction. Yes, you can be too addicted to being healthy.
Totally with you on this, Meghan, and (fates willing) I'll be 73 in less than a month. And I had cancer at 62 (still on the all-clear side, though the lingering effects of colon surgery make things a bit difficult at times). Except for when my taste buds were whack, I drank wine throughout. Extremely helpful to my (genuine) recovery. To me, totally negative thinking about drinking alcohol--"it's poison!"--often belies a puritanical streak, unbeknownst to the lapsed observer who thinks that "health" swims only one way in the wellness spring. With all due caveats, cheers!
ugh these kids are so embarrassing. like didn't we all know that one person (or people) who got married to their hs boy/girlfriend way too early, had no other partners, then proceeded to have kids and build a boring life... then inevitably one or both of them realize they missed out on all the carousing/shenanigans/other people's genitalia, and shit blows up?! youth and degeneracy go hand in hand, don't fight it!!!!
I think doing anything just because you are supposed to do it, with no internal connection to your personal intuition or interests, will often lead to long term disappointment and boredom.
There are caveats. If you’re not interested for some reason in eating, obviously that’s a deeper issue that needs immediate attention and also just doing it because it’s necessary to survive.
I went through such a phase in college, where I realized many foods I had been raised on were not good for my energy or mental health.
I experimented with different diets and settled on one I devised myself, because ~it made me feel good~, not because it came from a book or a doctor or the nascent internet at the time, though I did consult these resources.
I got a lot of pressure from others for giving up a variety of things, like factory processed meat, but I didn’t give up wine with dinner or occasionally tying one on with friends. Those things never interfered, substantially, with doing yoga, running and going to the gym.
You’re right absolutely, Megan, that balance is key. The only thing we should all do is find the activities, foods and friends that we each want to balance, but also vote.
The only two things we should do are…find balance and vote, but also laugh. There are three things we should all do. Find balance, vote and laugh, first and foremost, at ourselves.
I would add to this, and say I think we all need friends... I feel like in modern times a lot of people have downplayed the value of friends and community. They want convenience above all else... And friends aren't always convenient! You need to... leave your house! Make plans! Connect!
What's the line, "I drink to make other people more interesting."
Claiming that a few glasses of wine ruined three days of your life just proves a total lack of resiliency. Jesus... not to old man this too hard but when I was in my 20's... about 25-years ago, we'd do coke for three days straight and kill I don't know how many bottles of bourbon. And THEN we still went to work on Monday.
Now, pushing 50, yeah, sure, I'm a little more moderate in things. My wife and I have found actual joy in some degree of working out and living healthy. But you'll still only pry my bottle of Maker's Mark from my cold, dead hands...
I read this with some interest because I have noticed how utterly boring this whole trend of "wellness" is. I mean, at 52, I am no longer the speaker dancing bar star I was in my 20s and partial 30s (shhhh, I loved it and regret NOTHING) but I still love to party when I feel like it. I don't really understand this whole need to live like a monk thing and heaven forbid I cut loose.
Also, I can hear people clutch their pearls when I read your sentence "I drink raw milk" - personally, I don't drink any milk because it makes me ill but I can hear the freak out at the words raw milk.
Oh, yeah, people get very triggered anytime I mention raw milk! (Also, the responses to this piece are so funny to me. Here on Substack, most agree with me. On Facebook, people are…. FREAKING OUT. X seems pretty normal/even in their responses. I suspect Instagram will be on my side.)
Facebook people do love their freak outs. I am starting to feel like it is a cottage industry over there. Also, I am not sure why they don't see that being addicted to health and wellness is just another form of addiction. Yes, you can be too addicted to being healthy.
Facebook people are very weird! They are soooo much more uptight (and angry?) than the rest of the internet.
Totally with you on this, Meghan, and (fates willing) I'll be 73 in less than a month. And I had cancer at 62 (still on the all-clear side, though the lingering effects of colon surgery make things a bit difficult at times). Except for when my taste buds were whack, I drank wine throughout. Extremely helpful to my (genuine) recovery. To me, totally negative thinking about drinking alcohol--"it's poison!"--often belies a puritanical streak, unbeknownst to the lapsed observer who thinks that "health" swims only one way in the wellness spring. With all due caveats, cheers!
ugh these kids are so embarrassing. like didn't we all know that one person (or people) who got married to their hs boy/girlfriend way too early, had no other partners, then proceeded to have kids and build a boring life... then inevitably one or both of them realize they missed out on all the carousing/shenanigans/other people's genitalia, and shit blows up?! youth and degeneracy go hand in hand, don't fight it!!!!
Cheers to that <drink emoji>
Bravo!
I think doing anything just because you are supposed to do it, with no internal connection to your personal intuition or interests, will often lead to long term disappointment and boredom.
There are caveats. If you’re not interested for some reason in eating, obviously that’s a deeper issue that needs immediate attention and also just doing it because it’s necessary to survive.
I went through such a phase in college, where I realized many foods I had been raised on were not good for my energy or mental health.
I experimented with different diets and settled on one I devised myself, because ~it made me feel good~, not because it came from a book or a doctor or the nascent internet at the time, though I did consult these resources.
I got a lot of pressure from others for giving up a variety of things, like factory processed meat, but I didn’t give up wine with dinner or occasionally tying one on with friends. Those things never interfered, substantially, with doing yoga, running and going to the gym.
You’re right absolutely, Megan, that balance is key. The only thing we should all do is find the activities, foods and friends that we each want to balance, but also vote.
The only two things we should do are…find balance and vote, but also laugh. There are three things we should all do. Find balance, vote and laugh, first and foremost, at ourselves.
I would add to this, and say I think we all need friends... I feel like in modern times a lot of people have downplayed the value of friends and community. They want convenience above all else... And friends aren't always convenient! You need to... leave your house! Make plans! Connect!
This reminds me of the spiritual bypassing that a lot of people do. Maybe Ultra Healthy is the new Ultra Spiritual. (Thanks, JP Sears.)