Realization

It's always surprising how we -- or, to be more specific, I -- can see almost everything clearly except what's staring us right in the face. The sluggishness I've been feeling, that sense that I just don't have the energy to see projects through to completion, is almost certainly a direct result of the fact that I've been eating less healthily -- or at least at less healthy times -- and exercising in a more haphazard and sometimes half-assed manner.

I think one of my caffeine purges is in order. I haven't "detoxed" since before my mother's fall last February. And I need to start riding my bike every day and also jogging on a regular basis. My knee is as healed as it's ever going to be. All I need is the will to get out the door and get moving. Easier said than done, to be sure, but it does help to know that I've managed to shape up like that a few times in the past five years.

It's no surprise that how I feel physically bears on my ability to do intellectual work. Or that how I feel about my mental exertions conditions my relationship with my body. That's why I've resumed, after a long hiatus, writing by hand in my journal. And It's also why I'm making it a point to read theoretical texts for the first time in a long while. I still have what it takes to do good work with them. All I need is to get in a groove.