Survival of the "fittest"...

Lately, I've been reflecting on the idea of body image and how that idea has changed and evolved with the evolution of our species and our society...as well as what implications this has for us now and in the future.

So the theory goes that our bodies store energy in the form of fat when we consume more calories than that which is necessary for survival. The reason being that in primitive times, when our predecessors hunted for food, it is common for people to go without a meal for days because of the low success rates of hunting. Take the example of lions in the African safari. They often go without meals because it is so difficult to catch anything, and if lions, with body structures that are designed especially for hunting are having trouble, then how much more so for the scrawny homosapiens?
Evolution has given us a survival mechanism. When people actually succeed in bring home some poor deceased animal as food, they eat the entire thing, which is much more then they actually need. The people whose bodies excelled at store up the extra calories to be used later during the periods of starvation until the next catch probably survived better then the ones who can't store up enough and fail to make it through. Morbid, but survival of the fittest, nevertheless. And so there was a time when to be heavier (relatively fat) is actually a quality to be desired in mate selection.

Now fast forward to society today. Unless you live in the areas in this world where people still have trouble putting food on the table, in which case you probably would not be reading this, most people around us eat quite well compared to our primitive ancestors. The trouble today is not going without a meal. On the contrary, we eat too much and too often, and our bodies continue to store up the extra energy. The thing is, this mechanism that was once for the purpose of survival is now killing more people then any other disease, especially in this country. Heart disease and other complications of obesity have the highest death tolls in America. In this land of plenty, the way to survival now is not eating more than enough, but to eat just enough. However, we still inevitably end up over eating. We cannot undo millennia of evolution in a matter of decades, so the alternative that we are presented with today is to work out and burn off those fatal adipose tissue. The change of circumstances (food being more plentiful) has also kicked off a change of body image. Not only is fatness potentially fatal, but it's no longer attractive. Today the model of attractiveness is a lean, fit and moderately muscular person who works out routinely.

"Why is all this important?" you might have begun to ask 10 minutes ago when you read the section on lions on the African safari. I commend your perserverance, and I assure you that the end is in sight.

So this is important, because with all the overweight people (such as myself) dying due to our bodies' superior ability to store up extra calories, which is now a hazard to our health rather then a survival tool, maybe human beings (confined mainly to the areas of North America, Western Europe, and scatter throughout the well-to-do cities in the rest of the world) as a species is undergoing some sort of de-evolution where only the people whose bodies don't store as much fat as well as the people who are disciplined enough to work out regularly survive this process. Now it is truly the survival of the "fittest."

Out of the ashes...

I think I've been asked quite often what life after college have been like. My answer is a lie that is largely filled with the latest news on work, keeping busy, hanging out when I can, and so on. The truth is I find post-collegiate life to be rather boring and routine. During the week, I go to bed, wake up, go to work, come home, eat, and go to bed again. On Mondays, my day off, I cook six lunch boxes for the entire week, clean the apartment, and run errands. On Sundays, I go to church, then go grocery shopping. It's all very routine and not at all exciting, mundanities to be repeated day after day and week after week. Of course, there are the moments when the excitement and spontaneity that was so much a part of college life seem to rekindle...such as the road trip I took with some friends to Memphis last weekend,(surprise) birthday parties, staying up till 5am for no good reason...and several others. Yet at the end of it, I inevitably return to the routines. The mundane. And I fear that as time goes on and life runs it's course, those moments of fun will only become less and less frequent. Staying on a career path, getting married, settling down, having kids...all agendas in the future...all part of the routine that will most likely be my life.
However, out of the ashes I have began to find some measure of joy even in the most routine things. Routines can be boring, but they also offer stability and comfort. Cooking is a pain, but eating a homemade meal trumps eating out everyday. Cleaning and keeping the house in order has an empowering quality that is a reward in itself. Sleeping is not quite as exciting as staying up late, however it is a glorious feeling to wake up refreshed after a good night's sleep.
Routines, as it is, seems to make life less fun than life in college, yet who said that life will be or needs to be fun at all times. More recently, I am holding to the notion that life is going to be full of routines and pretty mundane for the most part. That's just the way it's going to be whether we like it or not. However, the important thing is to be able to find joy in the mundane things of life, to see past the repetitive surface of routines and to appreciate the little details that pieces together a life of meaning and purpose.