MrMary Meet Socrates Sorta in the gym: Probing the Question of Self

No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training…what a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.”
-Socrates

You may not know this but MrMary Works out for very specific reasons. That quote by Socrates has always been an inspiration not just to work out but to experience the totality of what it is to be a human being. I don’t like the beach I don’t try to show the guns off. See what interests me is self-mastery. I want to explore all my passions and all my interests and see in mastery them or something aspect of them what that will bring me in terms of a widened visions, what can it teach me that will make me less of a burden to my fellow man, etc.

You may think that sounds very lofty for just bench pressing and dead-lifting and the like but its very important  that I give you an example. If I am lifting 400lbs off the floor, Monday 400lbs will be 400lbs, the amount of physical energy needed to lift the weight will be the same, but I wont. My mind may not be into it,  I might be distracted. So with that said the one thing I train more than anything else in the gym is mental focus. Sometimes i ask myself why on Monday was the weight harder to pick up than last Monday. It gives me a chance to reflect on the happenings in my life. This is a very important detox from the stress of daily life because automatically I am standing apart from the hurried movements and looking at things  objectively. I can go on with the  benefits but I’m not I am going to go on a crazy non-sequitor, follow me…………….

You’re looking at 50 shades of Gainsz right there

The strongest thing a child can do is say “NO” it is an assertion of their individuality. Now I don’t want to eat this!!!!!. That is a deep sentence. It means I am sense aware of myself as an entity  but more so as an entity that has the power to choose, and a voice that’s a very deep thing and a very sacred thing. Its a shame when parents break down that assertion of individuality ( I think the best parents are the most creative ones that still can make a child eat vegetable without breaking their sense of self). To me lifting weights is an extension of this I am shaping my body to look a certain way, to function a certain way under stress. I am manifesting my experience of self by my physical appearance. To lift heavy is  proof that we have conquered something, that’s we were weaker and we went beyond what we thought we could.

Thanks my take on it. Of course I still perform my responsibilities to my family, to my dogs, lady, friend, students myself. I make sure to continually read and educate myself. Physical training is for me  another means to experience whatever it is I am.