Day Twelve: Fasting

As I slurp the remains of my post-workout smoothie, a delicious mixture of peanut butter, chocolate, and protein, I realize how much of a slave I am to my taste buds, to my sex drive, to my drive to be lazy and play games and read extraneous news sites all day. But, at least I am aware of my enslavement. And who is my master? My genes.

When food was scarce, it was logical that one's genes would impose a fierce drive to consume calories at any cost; thus, we seek fatty foods and eschew broccoli, which is hardly a fuel to our bodies at all. Our genes seek to reproduce themselves, and so they creating a lusty drive in us to procreate; without procreation, our genes' lineage would end. As for our drive to be lazy, I do not know the exact cause, but it may be to conserve energy and only expend it when absolutely necessary: Once again a result of the ancient luxury of calories.

Now, in modernized countries, food is no longer scarce; it would behoove us to eat healthily. And yet, natural selection lags far behind, acting on timescales of millions of years, not within the fleeting timescale of our lifetimes or the rapid rise of human civilization. And so, we are a nation of obesity, driven by our desire for unhealthy foods.

Also, the world is overpopulated, and people in less fortunate countries live in terrible conditions, some die of thirst or disease, others of hunger (in contrast the food-plenitude in first-world countries). And yet, our desire to procreate is still fiendishly strong; every woman has a biological clock, loudly chastising her for not having babies to take care of, every man wishes to create a son or daughter in his own image.

Our genes seem to plot our own demise! And yet, our genes do not have absolute control. We make conscious decisions each and every day; whether to overeat, whether to indulge in ultimately unrewarding sexual practices, whether to be lazy or industrious. Though it might seem like our desires rule us, we ultimately can decide to take lead of our own lives by staging a coup against our genes, which are ill-equipped to rule in this modern age.

It is 2PM now, and until 2PM tomorrow, no solid foods will enter my mouth. I've never fasted before, and it will be somewhat difficult, but I assume not overwhelming. This small physical act (which perhaps should be a monthly ritual) will help regain my focus during the remainder of this month of discipline.