Pure life

I was inspired to write this post by the latest episode of Dan Carlin’s fantastic podcast, Hardcore History . If you are interested in podcasts, history, or even if you aren’t, you should definitely hear at least one episode.

My philosophy is that life is as it should be. This is a problematic assertion since I really believe your life should be what you want it to be. There are two other problems with this philosophy I can’t really reconcile:

1. I don’t know why I believe this, and
2. I don’t know where to draw the line.

I do not nor do I have the desire to alter my perceptions in a recreational way. I would certainly never begrudge anyone who does to the extent they do not hurt anyone else in doing so (a child, a spouse, etcetera) because I cannot really articulate my reasoning for believing this. I have seen others stray too far down this path and begin losing the rest of their lives. I have also seen many people who use it in much the same way I use video games: they turn them on when they want to experience that and turn them off otherwise.

Part of this philosophy, I’m sure, comes from the fact that I am a naturalist. The problem there is that I believe we are a part of nature, and, thusly, the things we do and create are natural. Another problem is that many recreational drugs are use in a form pretty close to that in which they are found in nature. Naturalism doesn’t seem to preclude recreational drug use.

My problem with drawing the line is that most of us use some kind of drug on a daily basis. My wife has multiple sclerosis and is on drugs to weaken her immune system. One of my instincts is to say that her immune system would be weak if it needed to be, but since it is essentially malfunctioning to begin with, that is obviously not the case. I reason that her medication is there to put her back into her natural state—that natural state which, in this case, nature is fighting against.

I take very little medication of any kind. I routinely suffer through migraine headaches and other relatively minor ailments to avoid taking something for pain or to minimize symptoms. This works out on a number of levels. When I do take something, it is usually much more potent. Drug companies often rush to get drugs out without properly studying the side-effects. In fact, decisions the FDA makes about which products should be approved for use are based primarily on studies paid for by the companies that manufacture those products! Can you say conflict of interest? I also like living simply, and a daily regimen of vitamins and a plethora of medications for this or that ailment or symptom does not fit well with that lifestyle.

That’s right. I’m just going to cut it off here with no real point or resolution. I did that. Anyway, thanks for suffering through this stream of consciousness post.