Soulgevity

What does it actually mean to live well?

Almost a year ago, May and I were driving to Daytona Bike Week. On the way, we were listening to various podcasts - several discussing longevity and biohacking. I was struck by the intensity with which so many modern health influencers pursue longevity.

At times, it seems the only thing that matters is not dying. Some, like Bryan Johnson, spend millions of dollars a year to “not die.”

The Counter-Conference

The next morning we walked down to the bike rally and saw the various bikes and bikers parading down the street—loud and proud. Very, very loud.

Several, if not most, were obese and often smoking a cigarette as they rode down the street with no helmet.

I have been to numerous bike rallies, but after the previous day of being immersed in the longevity “space,” it hit me:

Bike rallies are “shortgevity” conferences.

One could not possibly conceive of a more counter-longevity event than fat bikers who are six beers deep, smoking, while riding helmetless.

One year while riding to Sturgis, I passed a guy riding 70 mph with his long gray hair flowing in the wind and smoking a cigarette. It was a miracle of aerodynamics that he could keep that thing lit.

So… Who Is Living Better?

All this got me thinking.

Is it better to live a life of reckless abandon without thinking much about the risks?
Or is it better to live so risk-aware that we squeeze every last second out of our mortal existence?

The answer, as usual, is somewhere in the middle.

Or maybe it’s not.

Maybe it’s not about balance at all - but about attitude.

Fitness as a Way to Live

I have always been physically active. For virtually all my adult life, fitness and physical activity have been a priority for me.

I love action sports - skydiving, skiing, motorcycles. I love these things because they make me feel alive. These are the things that nourish my soul.

I recall riding flat out on a dirt bike down the beach, waves crashing next to me, and all I felt was peace. For some, this would be terror. For me, it was peace.

The joy of setting a marathon goal and achieving it.
The reward of a cold beer after riding 750 miles with a good friend.

This is the joy of life.

Living Better vs. Living Longer

In all this activity, I never looked at fitness as a means to live longer.

For me, fitness was to live better.

If I was fit, I could ski easier.
If I was strong, I could windsurf longer.

Exercise became an end itself, in addition to a means to an end.

Longevity was never the goal.

Maybe this is why I find the longevity space so offensive.

The Problem With Chasing Immortality

Setting a goal no one has a clue how to achieve?

It’s way too complex to think we know exactly the billions of habits and choices required to live as long as possible. And honestly, it doesn’t seem that fun.

I’m not saying we should ignore physical or medical risk. But we should be asking far more questions about why we do the things we do.

The Power of Assumptions

The why is based on the assumptions we live by.

What we assume about health and our bodies determines how we live. Most of us may not even realize we are living under assumptions—let alone be able to articulate them.

What if what we assume about our bodies is wrong?

What if we make spiritual assumptions first and let the physical flow from there?

To quote Sting: “We are spirits in the material world.”

Every part of our lives is downstream of the spiritual. Everything.
Motorcycles. Supplements. Exercise. All of it.

Your Body Is Not the Whole of You

Your body is not the whole of you.

Your body is a tool - an interface with which your soul encounters the world.

What is more important: the nourishment of your body or the nourishment of your soul?

I have found that when I nourish my soul first, I usually take better care of my body.

There Is an Order to This

Take care of your soul.

Do the things that allow your soul to breathe - exercise, sunlight, relationships. The list is as long as there are different people.

Practice this every day.

Disorder Creates Dis-Ease

How much disease—or dis-ease—is caused because we don’t have our priorities and assumptions in order?

Dis-order creates dis-ease.

There are many ways to disorder our lives. We can be reckless and treat our bodies like disposable diapers, or we can be so concerned with every step and bite that we turn our bodies into idols.

Respecting the Vessel

I respect my body because it is the only soul container I get.

That realization is both awesome and awful.

Awesome because I get this vessel to experience life through.
Awful because it gets sick—and eventually dies.

A Different Way to Think About Life

We have all heard the expression, “Life is short, play hard.”

I live by a different one:

“Life is eternal, pray hard.”

These assumptions are articles of faith, and this is why understanding what we believe is so essential.

To live deliberately, we must first understand what faith assumptions we are making. We all live by faith - some include God, some do not.

The Freedom of Awareness

Nothing can improve life more than understanding that we all live by invisible principles.

Figure them out.
Question them.

And if you are honest, this process will be profoundly freeing.

Most of us could use a lot more freedom.