Am I Really "That Guy"?

To be clear, I am "that guy".

The fact is that I have not been running for a little while due to injury.

So what have I been doing to exercise? Well, I guess the best way to describe it is that I've gone back to my roots... my ancestral roots that is. Yard work... whether that's ancestral or not is yet to be determined, but to be honest, I should confess that I am "that guy" in the neighborhood.

You see, I don't see yard work as a chore, rather I see it as an opportunity to "cross-train", exercise or basically get back to the basic, simple mechanics of the human body.

It is my belief that the human body was designed for work. Throughout ancient history, human beings have accomplished and created amazing things with simple tools. As we have progressed as a species, we have streamlined much of that work; including but not limited to agriculture, food production, building structures, travel, communication, etc. In addition to all this innovation, we have also suffered from diseases that our ancestors did not have to deal with nearly to the extent that we are today, such as obesity, heart disease, cancer, etc.

I bring this up because for everything I do "simply", I remove a modern convenience and make my life slightly more complex. Take my last four posts for example. For me, the process of cultivating yeast and making bread from scratch is easy, but that's because I am committed to it, and I've practiced it for a long while. It is much easier for me to go to a store and purchase bread, throw ingredients into a bread machine, or use a multitude of manufactured ingredients to make my bread "from scratch", but I don't.

Running for me has opened new areas of understanding. It's deeper than just exercise, it's a connection between me and those who have gone before me. When I run, it's almost a primitive experience. My, and your, ancestors ran and walked everywhere. Our bodies were designed and have adapted for this lifestyle.

The problem is that we have lost much of this. Our ancestors lifted heavy things, dug holes, gathered food, hunted, ran, walked, cooked, fought, etc. They were strong and fit, because if they weren't they'd die.

We have cars, trucks, lawnmowers, bread machines, and tractors. We eat food that is made in factories thousands of miles away, drive our cars everywhere (even when it's only a mile away), use machines for just about every activity, and we wonder why we have so many more problems with pollution, heart disease, allergies, diabetes, etc. that our ancestors never experienced.

All this is to say that I am "that guy" in my neighborhood. Today's cross-training was to weed- wack the tall, tough weeds and to mow. I didn't use the electric weed-wacker, or gas-powered lawn mower. I'm the guy that people turn their heads to look at. The one whose lawn-work is not making all that much noise.

 This is my weed-wacker. It's powered by me, and my arms. It's cheap and simply requires that I walk while swinging it at the tall weeds... talk about a workout!

 This is my backyard, I include it to show the area that I generally had to work the weed-wacker and the lawn-mower... you'll see why this is important (perhaps)

This is my front yard- a before picture, though I'm not sure the prevalence of tall weeds is shown in this picture.







This is the front yard, after the massacre of the weeds took place

This is my lawnmower- a reel mower, completely controlled by me, my arms, my legs and my body

This is to shame anyone who thinks that a reel mower would be too much work, as my six-year-old begged me to help... then I took a picture

It is my opinion, my theory that as we have made life easier for ourselves, we have complicated our health way beyond what those before us had to deal with. All those machines in the fitness center, all those weights, exercises and diet plans come from the fact that we are not performing the work or consuming the food for which we were designed. Thus, one might conclude that this is our chief problem as a species.

Cultures and societies without our modern conveniences don't have our problems. I had always wanted a reel mower, but did not get the opportunity until I moved to Texas and bought a house. I do own an electric weed wacker, but use it mainly when I want to get the job done quick.

However, I find it much more rewarding and healthful to go back to the basics and complicate my life a little more. My goal is simple, yet very hard to do- to get as much off-the-grid as I can and to lead a more healthy and vibrant life.

God Bless,
Paul