BOB PARIS

I sit here in my garden on a glorious late May morning and sip a mug of dense french roast coffee while reading the newspapers online (in other words, I indulge my morning ritual).

I'm compelled to share what has become one of my favourite blogs; one that delves deep into the heart of creative process and life of the imagination. Rosanne Cash's current post -- about the various differences between fact and truth -- is especially apropos to my own artistic life. So...while I am not a songwriter (and perhaps you aren't either) I wanted to pass along Measure for Measure from the NY Times simply because it resonates.

Greetings,

I published this blurb and related links last week on my homepage, in celebration of Earth Day. Many of you have written, asking for the link to the article (and its author), so, here you go:

Happy Earth Day, 2008

In celebration, a fantastic article, from an amazing writer, on the most important issues in my own life (and what should be most important to all of us) as published in this week's NY Times Magazine: Why Bother? by Michael Pollan.

By the way, as very personal aside to those of you who may only know me from my long-ago bodybuilding days (and I write that with a nod and smile of appreciation), my daily fixation on issues related to wilderness, conservation, sustainability, alternative transportation, and all of those key issues around which Earth Day revolves have literally been lifelong matters for me and those I feel fortunate enough to call my friends. I first went out into the woods as a very young boy and fell in love with everything about them -- I'm lucky enough to get to live most of my life "out in the trees" and try each day to honor the ideals I believe to be important.

Be healthy and well and true to your own heart,

Bob

By Bob Paris

Let’s face it: Most people would love to get into and stay in better shape. They don’t because they have never broken the surface of the true meaning of fitness.

On the one hand, most of us don’t even realize that there is anything other than a purely physical approach to getting into better shape.

Most people believe that everything about fitness can be boiled down to the simple physical mechanics of muscles, body-fat, grams of protein, strict diets and so forth. In other words, it all comes down to hard physical work.

I certainly acknowledge that the purely physical aspects—such as aerobicizing, resistance training, stretching and dieting—are important, however the bulk of the equation rests below the surface.

To view fitness only as the sum of its physical parts misses a great deal of the point. It mistakes the tip for the iceberg.

But then, much of what the average person understands about getting into better shape misses the point, mainly because so much fitness information comes from those trying to cash in on the next quick-fix scheme. In opposition to the notion that getting in great shape takes hard work, there are those out there saying that we can easily cheat the system. They play on peoples’ natural insecurities and on a simple—yet mostly false—message our media culture shoves down our throat: If you have a perfect body, all your troubles will disappear.

We’re told that at the end of the quick-fix rainbow rests permanent transformation, and that, no matter what the risk or the means, the magic will work this time. People get conned into thinking that the next celebrity diet or miracle pill will do the trick, only to end up right back where they started: frustrated and often more out of shape than ever. Even in disappointment, they still search for fresh answers. They dive back into the jungle—among predators willing to peddle easy answers—and the cycle repeats itself into another dead end. Millions of people hope and pray that there is something different, some way to truly transform their bodies and lives in profound ways.

And, guess what…THERE IS!

But the magic doesn’t rest in a miracle pill or bizarre, trendy diet. The answer—the magic, if you will—rests instead inside of each one of us.

So, I’m here to tell readers two simple things. The first they may already know, the second I doubt anyone has ever told them:

1) A quick-fix approach to diet and exercise does not work. It might appear to work in the short term, but it has no deeper benefit than the immediate rush of fleeting results followed by the disappointment of back-sliding;

2) Approaching fitness from a merely physical angle misses a profound opportunity for extraordinary personal transformation.

In our culture, many who have trouble starting or maintaining healthier eating plans and exercise routines have essentially, at some level, grown habitually satisfied with being dissatisfied. They are addicted both to the roller-coaster and to the perceived disappointments they have with themselves for not doing more, doing better—for not getting it right this time.

Most people—who may be sincerely seeking ways to improve themselves and their lives—are stuck in this loop because they have never been told that it can be any other way.

Well, I’m here to say that it can be different:

You can find ways to change your life that not only change your body and your health but also allow you to go both deeper and higher into your life experience, helping you grown and evolve in ways you may never have imagined.

Stay tuned--There's more to come.

(copyright, Bob Paris; all rights reserved)