What’s the meaning of life without a body?
Everything we like, love, and pursue—everything is in vain without a healthy body. Why, then, does today’s society seem so disinterested in this fact? It seems paradoxical to me.
If everyone agrees that without a functioning body, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy life, why do we pursue activities that are known to be dangerous and harmful to our health? I think there are two possible answers to this question.
The first answer is that we perceive the threat or danger to our health as worth the risk. This is an act of rationality and consciousness. We are aware of the risks we encounter every day, and sometimes we pay too much attention to them, while we seem to underestimate risks that, in the long run, seriously threaten our health.
A clear example of our irrational exposure to risk is the more common than you think fear of flying. We know that driving is riskier than flying, but despite this knowledge, we don’t stop using cars. Why don’t we stop driving if it’s so dangerous? Should we only walk? But even then, there’s a slight risk of getting hit by a car or bike, or tripping on the sidewalk and breaking an ankle. So why do we do it? Because we see it as worth the risk.
The alternative would be staying in your room all day, to ensure you don’t die stepping off the curb, but I think that’s a life few people would choose.
But the real question is: “What are the risks that aren’t worth taking?” Some might consider the joy of eating sweets every day worth the damage to their teeth—who am I to judge?
What I reflect on is that we live in a society that pushes us to believe that sweets, alcohol, smoking, and similar habits are risks worth taking. Just visit a big city, and you’ll notice the continuous stimuli from advertising, architecture, and especially peer pressure, all encouraging us to engage in activities that pose long-term risks and seriously threaten our overall health.
I’m 19 years old, and I know how it feels when everyone else is doing something you feel is wrong or wouldn’t do. That pressure is the effect and result of the normalization of destructive habits in our society.
I know that many people won’t agree with me, and I always try not to bring this topic up, especially with my peers. When they offer me a drink or something similar, I just say, “I don’t drink, thank you.” And I’m usually met with looks of pity, as if I’m the problem.
I think this is one of the biggest problems in our society. You know we’re in serious trouble when we start normalizing self-destructive behaviors, like getting drunk every weekend, smoking cigarettes at a young age, and other addictions I haven’t touched on here, such as social media addiction—a big and serious issue, especially for the younger generation.
This is what I think about a topic that I often find people disagreeing with me on. I’m open to discussing it with polite people who think differently.