hephaestion2014's blog

Let me start this with an admission I rarely make. I was wrong. Yes, I was wrong about something. I know. Shocking isn't it? I've got through these 39years batting an average of 98% of being right about everything. Even when I'm wrong.

In philosophy, there's the concept of the mind/body split. Or the intriguing idea that your soul is floating inside or just outside this meat bag casing that the brain controls.

I'm someone who you can spend any time with and realise that I'm not comfortable in my body. There's reasons for this. I blame the dyspraxia 😁 but if you were to ask me if I was mind or body, I'd point at the brain and say that's where I live. In fact I enjoy wrestling because it shoves me out of my head into my body. Less philosophical more physiological.

I've got a friend in this little podunk town that I don't call home who is the reverse. I'm not saying he's brainless. I sometimes wrestle him and he might read this. So I'm definitely not calling you brainless. But he's more into his body. He likes testing it's limits. Pushing it to its extremes. Seeing how many veins that there are exactly in his forearms. And pretty certain last time I looked it was an 8 pack not a 6 pack. Give him a fence or wall, he's working how to scale it. I'm stood there wondering what's behind it, and where's the door. He's over it by the time I've made any decision.

He's my friend. I like him. But sometimes I vaguely hate him in that green eyed envious way. He doesn't have to think when wrestling. His body moves exactly as he wants it too. So naturally and fluidly. Plus he can rub his head and pat his stomach at the same time.

We've not long had a match. Well I say a match. It was mainly me trying not to look to weak or him have it too easy. We were having the usual chat as we were rolling around. Distinctly remember as he was headlocking me that he was saying he couldn't understand how I can enjoy Handmaids Tale but think Marvel Infinty War far fetched. I would have answered him but oxygen was kinda at a premium. Then he said something else, "By the way, you are limping again."

Yes.

T is for Tendonitis.

I get it every so often. Top of the foot. It's fun (!) Last time was because although I'll spend every last penny on books, I'll wear comfy old shoes till the uppers and the soles look like hungry hippos in front of marbles. But I've learnt from this. I spend every day of my working week on my feet walking about so lovely gel insoles are my friends. Been taking care of these plates of meat. They earn me the pennies.

After we had finished the match, let's not dwell on scores. Or who won. It's the taking part that counts. We were talking about the limp and tendonitis. He pointed out that sometimes when we are wrestling, I get stressed. Or tense up.

"It's why you get puffed out. You tense so hard that you are not taking enough air in. You've got to relax. "

It starts us thinking. I've changed job roles in the last year or two. It means I have to interact with people more. Which for an anti-social bugger like me can be stressful. If you work in retail or any service industry, you'll understand just how awful people are to every man, woman and child of them

When I'm walking around having to be forced
to interact, instead of stopping breathing or displaying any emotion on my face besides a pretty vacant smile- I tense up my feet. I tense up my shoulders and neck.

I used this as a point to prove my point that it's about how the mind controls the body. I feel stressed and it appears in my body. He shook his head at me.

No. The point you should take from it is that there is no split. It's not healthy mind healthy body or vice versa.

The Body is marvellous because it's both. There's no split at all.

He's right. Admittedly as I'm limping around I'm not entirely certainly I agree that it's marvellous but I do need to keep changing how I think about it.

Ramble over. I'm limping off now. 😁