When I build a house I start with plans. From there I ensure that ALL of the resources necessary to complete the building project are fully secure. Then I get the proper permits and begin clearing the land. Then once everything is compacted and leveled I dig and lay the foundation. Now the house is ready to be built.
When it comes to building a little habitat for humanity(children) I don’t remember this part of the process. I think like most people we went about it randomly or landed there accidentally.
From a Sears Roebuck(Craftsman) catalog dated 1908-1914.
“For $872.00 we will furnish all the material to build this Six-Room Bungalow, consisting of Mill Work, Siding, Flooring, Ceiling, Finishing Lumber, Building Paper, Pipe, Gutter, Sash Weights, Hardware, Painting Material, Lumber, Lath, and Shingles. NO EXTRAS, as we guarantee enough material at the above price to build this house according to our plans.
By allowing a fair price for labor, cement, brick, and plaster which we do not furnish, this house can be built for about $1530.00, including all material and labor.”
Six months later my house is built. Here I stand, keys in hand and nothing more to do but enjoy and maintain this beautiful dwelling. All the hard work is done. Now it is time to relax in my new hammock with an ice-cold glass of lemonade. Just then, from my new kitchen, I heard what sounded like the delivery truck from Sears Roebuck. Sure enough, there it was, back again with another bunch of building materials. What am I going to do with all that?
I get a feeling this is what has been happening with my body for many years.
Is it possible that my body once it was fully built to adult size was supposed to shift from a building project(childhood) to upkeep and maintenance(adulthood)?
For conversation’s sake let’s call that age 24.
In the same manner that a fully built and operational house no longer needs new building materials(protein) delivered continually, I imagine my body no longer needs anywhere near as much building materials(protein) going in but just fuel(carbohydrates) for the fires of maintenance mode. For my body that appears best described by the 80/10/10 diet. 60% Carbohydrates, 30% fats & 10% protein.
If the house is fully built much of the prior level of building materials and energy is no longer needed. But what would happen if the same level of building materials kept showing up on your front lawn year after year. What would happen to your property?
My human body grew to epic proportions year after year from sperm and egg to fully grown adult and there I was, yet I don’t ever remember shifting the way that I ate to accommodate for that change from growth to maintenance.
Is this a part of being human that we have lost to history? Is this a naturally hygienic tool of adaptation that will help us usher in the next great leap in how we understand human aging?
I’m pretty certain that we’ve mistakenly kept on packing more unneeded building materials into a house that has long been built.
Scribe(author) – Michael J. Loomis | Editor at Chew Digest