Last post, I was having fun re-inventing the water bottle. But today I'd like to be completely non-facetious, because it really was profoundly satisfying to take that hot water bottle to bed with me. Isn't profound satisfaction worthy of a post?
The old saying about 'hunger is the best sauce,' is certainly true, and that no doubt gets a lot of the credit.
But there is something else. Insulating a camper, wearing the right clothes, and toughening-up are all valuable activities. But they smell too much like 'living without.' That is, they are negative approaches. ('Negative' should not be thought of as a synonym for 'bad.')
There is something in human nature that is frustrated by emptiness, that is, 'living without.' Using fewer gigabytes of data on your internet plan, eating less, spending less, being celibate, showering less, stifling yourself in conversations, sleeping less, etc. At some point you rebel against these constant, nagging constraints.
You simply must add a positive -- that is, additive -- approach to your life. Carrying that hot water bottle into bed was an example.
Of course, running a conventional heater would be another example of a positive approach. But it is so sterile and meaningless to just buy some bar-coded product. In contrast, it means something to an individual to invent, improvise, learn, and struggle.
The water bottle was warmer than snuggling with a little dog.
The old saying about 'hunger is the best sauce,' is certainly true, and that no doubt gets a lot of the credit.
But there is something else. Insulating a camper, wearing the right clothes, and toughening-up are all valuable activities. But they smell too much like 'living without.' That is, they are negative approaches. ('Negative' should not be thought of as a synonym for 'bad.')
There is something in human nature that is frustrated by emptiness, that is, 'living without.' Using fewer gigabytes of data on your internet plan, eating less, spending less, being celibate, showering less, stifling yourself in conversations, sleeping less, etc. At some point you rebel against these constant, nagging constraints.
You simply must add a positive -- that is, additive -- approach to your life. Carrying that hot water bottle into bed was an example.
Of course, running a conventional heater would be another example of a positive approach. But it is so sterile and meaningless to just buy some bar-coded product. In contrast, it means something to an individual to invent, improvise, learn, and struggle.
The water bottle was warmer than snuggling with a little dog.
 |
| Archive: snuggling back in the old days. |
Comments