Assuming the Unreachable

When I use the word 'society' I mean that which reinforces our culture. By 'culture' I, of course, mean the collective body of expectations society whispers into our ears from the cradle to the grave. This is all made irrelevant by many alternate definitions of these meaningless words so this paragraph seems to be a waste of time.  

But why do we assume time is a commodity capable of being wasted? Could this perception of the cause of our perceptions be the reason we make stupid assumptions that profoundly determine the course of our lives?

What I really mean to start out to explain to you, my enlightened readers, begins by assuming, for some reason, the population of civilization, unambiguously across planet earth, have an insatiable appetite for everything. Citizens of progress have unlimited wants. 

Hell, everyone worth mentioning in economics old and new assumed and still assume this. In classic economics unlimited wants are shown to meet the harsh reality of mere existence. What I mean to say is, being humans we will never be able to provide for unlimited wants because we have limited means and limited resources -- the concept of scarcity.

The sad thing is that so many economic solutions rely on finding alternative means to sate the insatiable wants when the answer is and always was in front of the community of life -- stop assuming the human animal has unlimited wants. Don't try to reach wants but rather stifle the idea that these wants exist in the first place, effectively nipping the problem of scarcity in the butt. 

The simple assumption has proliferated into a cultural expectation that life should be solely a quest to sate as many wants as possible. If the wants are unlimited it is an unreachable goal. Working towards sating the insatiable is a sign of delusion or insanity. These two words perhaps describe a condition which may be used to categorize one segment of the human population -- civilization.

While I have not here provided demonstrable evidence to refute this assumption (which can be found in Marshall Sahlin's classic The Original Affluent Society) it is just a matter of changing one's perception of human contentment to begin to find this contentment. 

People in all walks of life believe there is somehow an end to be reached which will bring happiness and contentment while at the same time operating within a world-wide system running under an assumption that wants will never be fulfilled. 

To apply the above, think about health food. The kind of people who go to health food stores are the kind of people who want something. They want to lose weight, relieve digestive problems, maintain health, or live for 135 years. But once the immediate want is fulfilled another arises to take its place. The reason for this is both external and internal. 

Because the sellers of the healthy products are assuming it is their mission to make as much money as possible to fulfill as many of their unlimited wants as possible, they bombard the world with advertisements to convince consumers they have wants which can be fulfilled by way of purchasing said product.

But the consumer also assumes these wants exist and buys into the advertisements, quite literally. Ironic or by design, the loss of currency in exchange for said product to fulfill perceived want then creates a need for further currency.

So, at the end of the day we live in a world beyond our control. But there is nothing stopping us from non-participation. Simply opt out when the alternative is buying into a system of delusion and insanity. See the world for what it is. When buying food for good health act as you would at any other activity: Do the best you can with what you have with the time you have while doing the least harm to others and yourself. Just remember wants beyond sustenance are illusions.

Suburbia: Where Tragedy and Hope Meet

I almost died the other day. This happened while I was on my way to work. You see, I've decided to give up the car indefinitely. I ride a bicycle to work every day. Therefore, my daily commute requires me to fill up with calories instead of gas (which is still expensive as the price of food has risen nearly in tandem with gas). But it is still brilliantly cheap to commute under my own power. No gas. No car insurance. No maintenance. No $40 stickers. The only downfall, it seems, is the near constant threat of being run down by enormous automobiles.

It is another beautiful summer here in the western suburbs of Chicago. The forecast for the next week is uniformly in the high 70's F with occasional clouds drifting through without a care for time or reason. These benign clouds watch the world drift beneath them and perhaps observe all the curiosities taking place down below. In fact, a few days ago one of these delicate drifters may have watched in amusement as a young man on a bicycle was nearly squashed into the road surface by the hostile and psychopathic actions of an overweight man in a small black corvette.

Statistically, bicycling is no more dangerous than driving in a car. But here in the suburbs people avoid walking, running and bicycling like they do reasonably efficient vehicles; people are not used to negotiating the same space with bicyclists or pedestrians. So when I cross a street with the authority of Illinois traffic laws as well as the insurance of making eye contact with my would-be murderer, I come within inches of my own doom. 

The crux of the issue, however, was certainly the thing this disgruntled man said to me as he hit the brakes and then the accelerator (simultaneously rounding the corner with haste and emptying half his gas tank). He yelled, "Jackass!" My emotions were already in a strange way due to the personal reflection that immediately followed my near death experience, so I had but naught to reply. 

I sat at the next corner puzzled not by the actions and words of the man, but instead by the curious fact that this man had had his window down instead of using his air conditioning. "There is hope, yet!" I thought out loud. "Feel the warm air and listen to the wind in the trees. The next step is to free yourself of your steel cage!"

There was no need to be embarrassed for making my thoughts audible because I was the only one on the sidewalk for the duration of my commute home. 

Choclatea from Smile Chocolatiers

The word 'anti-oxidant' is thrown around a lot these days. But it isn't so much hype as semi-recent revelation. Anti-oxidants are the janitors of our bodies. They neutralize free radicals -- harmful molecules which can destroy cells and DNA. Getting enough anti-oxidants is quite important for our health.

So, the world of chocolate lovers sigh with collective relief after each new study comes out praising the anti-oxidants in cacao. One reason put forth to rectify the French paradox of eating so much fat and pastries while not all dying of heart disease is the anti-oxidant reserveratol in red wine. Also, the Japanese are said to age so gracefully because of the wonderful anti-oxidants present in their green and other teas.

Smile Chocolatiers (more specifically Joan Freeman) has done something really cool. Joan blended all of these things -- the chocolate, the tea, and the fruit to create a line of extremely flavorful chocolates and chocolate bars. The flavors are blended perfectly where spices, fruits and tea leaves make wonderful tastes found in perhaps no other fine chocolate. The added bonus is the 'trio of anti-oxidants' from dark chocolate, green, white, black and roiboos (African red bush) teas, cranberries, raspberries and pomegranate. 

I have to say the Pistachio Green Tea was my favorite. They all represent unique tastes not found anywhere else, but that flavor was perfect. Maybe it was the time of day or the mood I was in, or maybe it was something else completely. Whatever the case, Pistachio Green Tea was right on.

The 12 'sublime tastes' are:

Very Dark (72% pure cacao)

-Herbal Chai Tea

-Pomegranate White Tea

-White Tea

-Coconut Green Tea

Dark (64% pure cacao)

-Herbal Chai Tea

-Coconut Green Tea

-Wild Raspberry Tea

-White Tea

Milk (37% pure cacao)

-Wild Raspberry Tea

-Ginger Tea

White (37% cocoa butter)

-Rosemary Tea

-Pistachio Green Tea

Fruit, Nuts From Nuts Online

There's a time and place for everything. To extrapolate from this adage, there is most assuredly a product and taste for everyone. In the health food world of commodities the consumer is presented with a marvelously huge selection. But as one (especially one who is new to health food) soon realizes, there are a limited number of staples which must be continually purchased to satisfy anticipated usage.

A problem is usually noted at this point: most health foods come in small packages. Common solutions are funny to watch. Sometimes the cart, basket or organic cotton reusable grocery bag is filled to the brim with fifty-two 4 oz packages. Other times, arrangements are made to get a discount by buying cases of the product at a time. This translates into fifty-two 4 oz packages in a cardboard box at maybe 15% off. Yet another method I've been introduced to recently is the co-op. A group of families orders products from a distributor -- cutting out the retailer -- in bulk.

There are more solutions, however. One way to buy healthy foods in healthy amounts is Nuts Online. The company is already one that I like. The website tells a tale of how one man's entrepreneurial spirit and determination became a thriving multi-generational and family-oriented business. Weighing that against a corporation suffering from giantism, corruption and environmental concerns there is no question which I would choose to patronize.

Nuts Online offers a huge selection of nuts, fruits, coffees, teas, seeds, spices and more. And there are many options such as raw, organic etc. to satisfy even a Health Food Purist. Prices per pound with increasing bulk savings presents a solution to the problem of health foods in small packages.

Nuts Online recently sent some of their popular products my way:

Turkish Figs - Historically I've never had much interest in figs. I think one time long ago I must have had a bad experience or something. But to my surprise the figs from Nuts Online were soft and really, really good.

Mixed Nuts - Here's a great product. A combination of every nut I could think of if I had to make a list on the spot, save pine nuts. But on that note, the pine nuts are nearly half the price as would be found at a normal retail store.

Goji Berries - This hot Himalayan Fruit is in so much demand these days. I've noticed people get really picky about them, even for a purist. The berries from Nuts Online had no additives and were exceptionally soft for what is usually a very tough fruit.

Dried Strawberries - With nothing else, these freeze-dried strawberries had more flavor than I am used to. Great for mixing into yoghurt and cereal, or by itself.

[The Nuts Online Website]

Stop Eating These Four Foods For Better Health

There is this popular saying used to brush off the idea that what one eats might never be acceptable. It goes like this: 'Everything in moderation.' This pithy, clever expression contains much wisdom, and indeed proves a safe way to avoid harm. But there are some things I do not believe the body should be subject to -- even in moderation. 

To this end, I have compiled a short list of foods I believe to be unforgivable as well as the reasons why. It would do one well to realize these foods are a health risk not worth taking. And unless one wants to be done up at last, one should consider seriously the purist approach to these foods: cut them out completely.

1. Doughnuts

The healthiest part of a doughnut is the hole in the middle. Doughnuts are so uniquely unhealthy it boggles the mind. They are fried, full of sugar and white flour and contain comically high amounts of artery-choking trans fats. It is as if they were designed to make people fat and die of heart of disease. One doughnut will run you 200 to 300 calories and spike your blood sugar like there's no tomorrow. 

2. Soda

The number one source of calories in the US is now soda. The average American drinks about 60 gallons per year. One can of soda has 10 teaspoons of sugar and 150 calories, not to mention the caffeine and artificial colors and flavors. But at a fast food joint it is not uncommon to see drinks approaching 42 ounces. Simple logic would then allow us to make the assertion that one might take in up to 35 teaspoons of sugar from the drink of a fast food meal alone. Diet Soda is no savior -- artificial sweeteners like aspartame are serious neurotoxins that are increasingly being linked to diseases such as MS, Alzheimer's and others. 

3. French Fries

Potatoes are composed primarily of simple sugars that will raise blood sugar and blood insulin levels. When potatoes are fried they have the added bonus of trans fats and acrylamide which is a very potent carcinogen. Polyunsaturated oils (canola, soybean, safflower, corn etc.) used to fry the french fries are also very unstable, becoming rancid when exposed to oxygen and forming unhealthy free radicals in the body. 

4. Chips

Until recently most chips contained trans fat. Some still do. But even without the trans fat chips have the high potential to contain the carcinogen acrylamide like french fries and most fried food.

By simply eliminating these foods from your diet, you will significantly improve your health. This can be one of the easiest ways to improve your overall wellness, or it can be a struggle.

[Facts from Dr. Mercola's website]