See Me Seeing Through You

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. ~Dr. Seuss

The other day I read an article about the efforts of a nudist colony to attract newer and younger members to complement their existing and perhaps sagging aging community. The article quoted some recently joined 'members' who squealed excitement at the feeling of being 'truly free' as they danced around a maypole of some sorts. 'Freedom', as I believe one member expressed in delight, was defined as being able to reveal ones true nature to others. Yes, I imagine that for some, there is a certain amount of bliss, if not pride, that can be derived from the ability to openly and honestly advertise 'what you see is what you get'. For others no doubt, such freedom, alas, falls … short.

Anyway, 'the point' is that this all got me thinking about honesty and openness, and to what extent we think others see us as we really are, assuming we really know who we are. It's easy to question this latter point, but I think it's more interesting to fathom just how well people really know us, especially in terms of understanding whether we are transmitting false signals about our personae or whether others are just plain reading us wrongly. As usual, it ultimately leads to exploring the great divide between 'us' and 'them'.

Speaking of 'great divides', let's not forget that some people are sadists and enjoy being assholes. At least, in a twisted way, you can't really accuse them of being fake with you. They have no problem brandishing a sign that reads 'caveat emptor', let the buyer beware, and then bashing you over the head with it. You'd either be a fool to pollyannishly think otherwise, or a masochist. Either way, you're going to get sucked into one hell of an emotional black hole.

OK, so assholes, notwithstanding, there are people who, by their own definition, are open books. I'll discuss these types in a moment. However, in contrast, there are those who put on airs or adorn themselves with all manners of masks and game faces as they promenade through life's social gaieties pretending to be what they are not... and perhaps desperately hoping that people will not see through their veils and just accept them as they want to be seen. With these types, 'the masks', it's kind of hard to see on whom the bigger mind game is played. Regardless, eventually disappointment rains down on all involved, leaving a partly clouded hue of resentment on both ends of the relationship. After the damage is done, they're famous for their parting words "who do you think I am?"

What of the 'open book' types? Well, you can take them or leave them without psyche splitting repercussions, be they sinners or saints, bleeding hearts or empaths, clown or intellectuals, wallflowers or slackers. You can deal with them on your own terms and not feel the mental stress of needing to keep score. In the best of them are found truly beautiful people who exhibit openness and honesty, and a genuine lightness of being. They may leave you with a smile, or a feeling of warmth. In the worst of them are found a 'laissez-faire' attitude; the 'devil may care', but you most certainly will not because all contracts are not binding.

As for me, I like to believe I'm an open book, even though I think too much. I hate mind games because I've played them on myself for so long and I've learned that life is hard enough without the added mental stress. I don't feign airs, but I can see through most foggy mists. Still, I'm mostly harmless; I don't usually have ulterior motives, and if I do, you generally should be flattered, rather than nervous. I espouse 'unconditional love' and strive to live and let live. Nevertheless, I must confess, I seem to unintentionally unnerve the unnerved, and enervate the zealots and proselytizers who seek to remake me in their image.

Yes, it's unfortunate that many people, especially the masks, want me to be something other than who I am. And, I'm happy with who I am, even if that means being misunderstood or disappointing others who are more interested in all things other than my happiness. Does that make sense? If not, let me explain it this way: I'm not a nudist. I'm happy if I've made you smile. I'm equally happy if I've pissed you off.

PS. Thanks for reading. Are you concerned by how you appear to others, or is that just how you really look? Let me know. By the way, if you are thoughtful enough to wonder how people take you, you obviously are OK in my book. :)

Suggested Listening:

   



Suggested Reading:

     

A Birther In The Rye (and other nonconformist ideations)

Light the lamp and fire mellow, 

Cabin essence timely hello, 

Welcomes the time for a change. 

- Cabinessence:  Brian Wilson & Van Dyke Parks

Uncle Sam used to tempt to us to 'be all that you can be', assuming we enlisted in the Army. I'm sure that many a good soldier not only answered this challenge, but met this call to action. Lots of others, however, paid it as much mind as they did the Tidy Bowl man (read: Ty-D-Bol) hustling his product from the blue waters of his commode based rowboat. Nevertheless, a bit of logic would suggest that sometimes you have to separate the message from the messenger.

Why do only a fraction of us actually challenge ourselves to be all that we can be? A better question yet might be why we even aspire to be more than we are. Why aren't we just content to embrace mediocrity? Why must we be egged on to face and overcome adversity, just to fall back on resting on our laurels?

Slackers in Hell

Some might say that the answers to the above questions lie in our decidedly guilt-laden 'western' creed cum Judeo-Christian work ethic (breathe) chastising us to work on lest we be nothing... or worse than nothing (i.e. you're going to  hell). In the 12th century, admonition is found in the words of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer "Idle hands are the devil's tools." Some years later, in 18th century America, Benjamin Franklin chimed in as well "Trouble springs from idleness, and grievous toil from needless ease." Clever guy that Franklin was; talk of the devil makes some people real nervous.

Who among us hasn't smirked at the adage 'practice makes perfect'? We may nod, scoff, or lower our heads in submission. We may slink away in self-righteous depression and then mentally flog ourselves in passive aggression. Or, for a fleeting moment we may resolve in earnest to do better when 'next time' next comes around. Regardless, guilt for not 'trying harder' has already hit home, sometimes bringing with it humiliation, deprecation, degradation ... and lots of other negative ideations, too!

Congratulations! If you have read this far, take heart in knowing that you have reached the point where a narrator booms "Don't despair! Help is at hand!" From the depths of morosity a voice is heard. It starts in low, and then starts to grow... and as the Grinch discovered much to his chagrin, the sound isn't sad! Why, this sound sounds merry! In fact, it is merry VERY! (pregnant pause) Ok, maybe not merry, but the point is we can change our way of thinking, or at least we can think for a change and stop banging our heads against the same walls we know all too well. If we can learn to push the envelope of our own mental and emotional confinements and think outside of the boxes we entrap ourselves in, then we can defy our own expectations and in fact, the expectations of others.

A good place to begin is by introspectively asking ourselves who we are looking to please. Is it ourselves or the 'others'? Indeed, we need to ask if we define ourselves or if we are defined by 'others'. We must question why it is incumbent on us to seek recognition and approval from 'others' and not ourselves. We must petition for the question to be raised concerning why we have seemingly been programmed to place 'others' before ourselves. We must forward the proposition that, at some  point in our existence, we allowed 'others' to impress upon us the idea that we must repress our own needs and desires, suppress our emotional yearnings and oppress our thoughts with self-doubt and self-nullifying conviction.

The 'Donald'

Yes, despair not for I am sure that even now, though many of you have yet to reach for pitchforks, shovels and lanterns, my words have nevertheless resonated deeply within you all. As I spread these seeds of non-conformity, I can almost hear the words frothing forth from the corners of your mouths as you demand to know who or what institutions have visited our psyches with such atrocities. Friends, I don't have all the answers, but rest assured that I can tell you one thing of which I am certain ... Donald Trump is a bell-end.

PS. Thanks for reading. How easy is it for you to think yourself out of a box? Is it a box or more like a carton? Are you a 'birther' or were you just born that way? Let me know.

Suggested Reading:

     
     


Suggested Listening:

Frigging Fructose Festers Fears

Warning: The following blog post will make you sick, but if you're like me, not as sick as you already are.

Let's begin with the fact that I am an emotional eater. There, I've said it. I freely admit that I can eat myself sick and all in the name of stress relief. That's right. In some twisted way I've come to falsely believe that on any given day my habitually eating myself into oblivion will momentarily ease my life's chronic daily tension. Yes, I know that I can't stem the tide of life's indignities with junk food or even health food, but knowing as such has never caused me to muster the energy required to facilitate 'mind over matter' (i.e. put that fork down, step away from the table).

As I wedge that last chunky morsel of hot dog bun into my mouth, I realize the sad reality that the orgasmic second of stress release I'm craving is fleeting; it comes and goes and is replaced by that beached whale like bloating feeling in my gut. Lord, where did I ever get the idea that eating brings stress release? As I reach for another slice of key lime pie, I have to wonder if I was born this way, or if somehow I've been programmed to behave like this. Genetics? Nature vs. nurture? Or, ... just plain old conspiracy.

You Must Obey! Feed Me Seymour!

Nutritional Info for Dummies:
Ok, so if you rifle through the contents of your pantry, you will likely find that the single most common ingredient that the majority, if not all, of your packaged food items contain is 'high fructose corn syrup' (HFCS). It's what makes practically all of the processed food we eat taste palatable, even some that are touted as 'dietetic' or 'light'. Without this processed 'chemical' we might sooner be eating the cardboard and plastic packaging, than its contents. Trust me, there is no such thing as a gastronomically delicious dietetic delicacy.

• We all know that sugar in any form isn't good for us. It's a poison by any other name.
• Sucrose is table sugar processed from cane or beet sugar. Not to be snorted. Promotes cavities and tooth rot.
• Glucose / Dextrose is the sugar found in our bodies. What's not used for energy turns to ugly unsightly fat. Not what you find on your powdered donut.
• Fructose is a natural sugar found in fruits. We're told it's good because it doesn't raise insulin levels and it's all natural, but so is sucrose. Too much fructose triggers bloating and diarrhea.
• Corn Syrup is a cheaper sugar substitute made from corn starch. Like hair conditioner, it softens texture and adds volume. Some people bathe in corn starch to relieve crotch rot and other rashes.
• High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a laboratory produced mix of fructose and glucose. It has a higher concentration than regular fructose, tastes a zillion times sweeter, and most importantly to food manufacturers (aka Big Business) it's cheaper to produce.

Big Burp

Moreover, since it takes less of HFCS to approximate the same level of 'sweetness' as ordinary sugar, then to people like me this means we can eat more. Come on and be honest. You feel less guilty drinking that 'Double Big Gulp' of Coca-Cola because you don't see the word 'sugar' listed as an ingredient. In a similar vein, you are more likely to polish off that vat of fat free ice cream than the full fat variety. Such self-delusions of grandeur can be quite self-reinforcing. However, it's not just our lack of guilt or ignorance that perpetrates our acts of gluttony. Read on, for here the conspiracy lies. 

HFCS is truly an insidious creation. It addicts us with its tastes and then once ingested forces a biochemical game on us; it not only contributes to weight gain, but also fosters overeating. Fructose does not stimulate the production of  leptin, which is the hormone responsible for telling our bodies "You've had enough, you fat porker!" It also doesn't suppress levels of grehlin, which is a hormone that screams "Hey! I'm starving over here! Feed me!" Now, these are just the effects of good old regular fructose. Concerning HFCS, and let's place emphasis on the words 'high fructose', we can multiply these facts exponentially by ... well even without the numbers, we can do the math and understand why food manufacturers love it. In fact, the governmental 'powers that be' love it too, because more HFCS means more food consumption, which equals more taxes. It also means our wonderfully horrific fast food exports are winners abroad. And, as a result, world domination increases in proportion to waist size.

The Corn Refiners Association

We all know that sugar is bad enough, but HFCS is worse and here's the rub: HFCS promotes 'metabolic syndrome'. That's a fancy word for a combination of risk factors that trigger weight gain, raised cholesterol levels, coronary artery disease, strokes, and type 2 diabetes. It's sort of like the 'triple crown' of health ills. Moreover, for those of you who abstain from alcohol, you may still be at risk of cirrhosis of the liver thanks to HFCS. In fact, the only real metabolic difference in our bodies between drinking a can of Coke versus a can of beer is that the latter gives us a 'buzz'. Unlike Coke, beer is metabolized in our brains. Yet, HFCS does it's damage so surreptitiously that you might think that both the Corn Refiners Association and the National Corn Growers Association were on contract with the Pentagon!

Let's be honest here, I know it's wrong to wash down that Snickers bar and bag of Doritos with a 32 ounce 'BIG GULP' of soda. It's even worse when it involves a 44 ounce 'Super Big Gulp', or a 64 ounce 'Double Gulp' ... and especially with a 128 ounce 'Team Gulp'! However, it's one thing for me to willfully poison my health with foodstuffs I toss down my gullet, and it's another to fathom that various agricultural and food manufacturing industries, as well as Uncle Sam, are attempting to profit from my lack of willpower. In other words, it's one thing for me to knowingly feign a dump truck as I hold a bag of BBQ potato chips up into the air to let its contents 'fly down the chute' into my drooling mouth. It's another thing altogether to realize that I'm being fattened for the slaughter at the behest of 'big business' for its own twisted economic cravings. Knowing this makes me sick, and it should disgust you, too.

Not from the 'X-Files'

The other day I invested 90 minutes of my life to watching a well reasoned presentation, by one Dr. Robert H. Lustig, that laid quite intelligently, and entertainingly, not only how sugar, fructose, and especially HFCS, are killing us, but also how various big business and governmental interests are pulling the trigger. Watching this presentation helped me change my mind about the foods I eat. Now ... I only need to change the foods I eat. I suggest you do the same. Here's the video:

Watch the video and then go to the following websites and complain. Better yet, head on over to their local offices and vomit at their door. Leave them a can of Coke, too!

The US Food and Drug Adminstration: http://www.fda.gov/
- Uncle Sam. He knows the truth. The truth is out there.

The US Department of Agricuture: http://www.usda.gov
- Uncle Sam says grow more corn! We need more ethanol and HFCS!

The Corn Refiners Association: http://www.corn.org/
'Children of the Corn'. Sort of like the NRA and the Tobacco Industry 'Death Merchants'.
  

The National Corn Growers Association: http://www.ncga.com/
Corn Nuts. Proud makers of corn, not porn or tobacco. Not to be confused with the 'Northern California Golf Association'.

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PS. Thanks for reading. Why do we believe it's normal to gulp down 32 ounces of Coca-Cola, shove a Big Mac and fries down our throats, and then go for another 32 ounce refill? Aren't you ashamed that we are so gullible as to continue to allow 'big business' and government to poison us in the name of good economics? Are you an emotional eater or do you really think you're getting exercise by running to the fridge every 10 minutes? Let me know.


Suggested Reading:

     

Suggested Listening: