Meaning and Purpose

Unless there’s meaning and purpose in one’s activities, sheer and wanton waste of energy is not a positive conditioning model. One becomes what one conditions himself to be. If it is to waste as much energy as possible, that’s the kind of person one is conditioning oneself to be -- and of course, such a person will take on that form of a grossly inefficient person.

But if one desires to move with the greatest efficiency possible, the greatest grace, economy of purpose and movement, one will take on that shape and condition. That is what that body does and has to do. So the notion that any expenditure of energy is desirable is not true -- as a purposeful and healthful productive activity. If one is going to bother to do something, they can make it their mantra of perfection (art) -- their own standard of performance and achievement; it could be weightlifting, running, swimming, biking, calisthenics, or just plain breathing.

The yoga people have made their entire system of exercise focused around the breathing. Tai-chi takes that flow of energy further; the imagery is the unlimited power of the air entering one’s body and being directed by hydraulic pressure to where there is the flow of movement.

The popular notion that merely raising the heart rate and burning as many calories as possible is probably one of the most damaging perspectives ever offered about what exercise and conditioning should be about. It’s totally meaningless and encourages people to believe that there is no organizing principle in any and all activity that gives it a higher purpose. Everything is trivialized to nothing -- randomness of activity being as good as a highly skilled achievement.

Such people pride themselves that they cannot “discriminate” any differences -- as though that were the supreme attainment of their lives -- rather than the folly of fools. These people will tread endlessly through their lives -- wasting every opportunity to make a difference, to improve, to better themselves. They will demand that others must love and honor them for that reason -- that one should not discriminate between the good and the bad, fit from unfit, a beautiful and practical form from the ugly and useless. And then they think they have a superior ideology to impose upon the world!

Life is not random; life is increasing order that predisposes even greater order. That’s how knowledge and the collective experience builds upon what has been done before. It’s not that everything is totally random and arbitrary -- and so nothing makes a difference; it doesn’t matter. That is the depths of despair, hopelessness, utter futility.

That’s what many intellectuals unfortunately view the activities of the physically active to be. They try to discredit and undermine the high purpose, organization, intelligence and wisdom of such practices -- because they themselves are so out of touch with their own physical bodies. They think nothing is connected to anything else, to any other purpose and reason for being. That it is all sound and fury signifying nothing a really serious and intelligent person should take seriously. So while they’re on the treadmill, it won’t be a total waste of time and energy if they can read “People” magazine and find out what’s going on in the world.

They haven't a clue.