Joshua Encinias

Or The then, the now, and the not yet –

Shock. I actually didn’t buy food last night. I started talking to one of my roommates and it lasted a long time. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to go now…

Today I did really well with my diet until this evening. I went to a book release party and there was Chick-fil-a so I naturally ate two sandwiches. Naturally, right? Ugh. This diet is just one area where I’m starting to take responsibility. A friend recently wrote: “The tearing down and rebuilding never ends. You walk on after being in those crazy times, where you were too close to be comfortable, but you were tired of comfort and you missed comfort.” That’s what my diet is all about. I can’t destroy, or replace my body. When you work out it sheds excess parts of you and that allows other parts that were once isolated and padded to loosen and tighten up. It allows them to work together and strengthen each other. Your parts only reach their potential when they work as a whole (and that potential varies from person to person). But it is in the tearing down where you begin build a better person – a whole person. A person whose parts are submissive to the will and the passions – that work together – learning to be in harmony. The tearing down has to help the sharpening of your person. Otherwise you’re just practicing asceticism.

Fat King. Read on for this to make sense.

Aristotle does a better job of explaining this:

The function or characteristic activity of human beings, Aristotle has argued, is “a way of living… consisting in the exercise of the psyche’s capacities in accordance with reason, or at any rate not in opposition to reason”; a good person “exercises these capacities and performs these activities well.” Excellence, then, is that condition which best suits us to perform those activities which are distinctively human. Hence the best life for a human being will involve “the active exercise of his psyche’s capacities in accordance with excellence” (1098a12-18).

Excess or deficiency will keep you from being virtuous (excellent) – morally, or in body. Whereas morality is set by God and supported by your standard of living and culture – standards for bodily virtue always vary. Of course there is the Grecian Idea. But it is an ideal. Fat Kings and Queens used to be the norm – they didn’t have to be nimble. But those ruling classes did not travel like they do today. Now even middle and lower class people travel. That’s a cheap example to say that thin is in.

All of that said – today has little bearing on how I begin tomorrow. Today is just today. It’s gone, and I can choose better tomorrow. Because “in the dark we climb this slope cause the bravest thing is always hope.”

I’ll close out this entry with a good note: On Monday my friend Eric (mentioned here) came up to me and said they lost about 30 pounds on the diet, and that was without exercise. That’s really cool to hear the diet is working for people. Eric also said he was proud that I’ve decided to choose a healthier lifestyle. That’s the kind of boost I need.

Cheers,

Josh