Isn't caring about health just fear of death?

[AlphaAbundance]

Caring about health (nutrtion, exercising) it's all to prolong your life. There is no you to prolong so why focus on health and promoting longevity. Is it just fear of death?

Edited January 31, 2019 by AlphaAbundance

[pointessa]

The reason that I care about health has to do with the quality of life. For instance, when meditating, too much pain or discomfort can be detrimental to the process. I have no desire to live longer, I simply feel it is beneficial to avoid diseased states and pain.

[DecemberFlower]

Taking care of your health is more like having a better chance of having a good life..hard to have a good life if you will be constantly physically sick and in mental distress

[AlphaAbundance]

@pointessa Ok that was an insightful perspective. In that case wouldn't 

• eating junk delicious foods
• doing weed (not sure if its unhealthy) and other drugs
• not exercising

be more pleasant than

• eating bland nutritional foods
• having zero drugs in your system
• putting effort toward exercising

in the end?

[bejapuskas]

@AlphaAbundance  No it wouldn't, sickness feels like shit. Can you even self-inquire to experience no-self, when your nose is blocked, you have a terrible headache and vomit?

[AlphaAbundance]

@DecemberFlower I see so kind of like what @pointessa said about quality of life. If we are not considering longevity aren't the pleasures of not giving a fuck about health greater than the efforts of caring about health?

[AlphaAbundance]

@bejapuskas Well it seems like most people would be having those symptoms constantly if that was the severity of what happen when you stop caring about health. It seems like with okay health (which is what happens when you stop caring) you can still meditate successfully. Your body forces you to do the minimum actions toward health anway by making food pleasurable.

[Consilience]

41 minutes ago, AlphaAbundance said:

@DecemberFlower I see so kind of like what @pointessa said about quality of life. If we are not considering longevity aren't the pleasures of not giving a fuck about health greater than the efforts of caring about health?

No they arent. Eventually you become conscious of the fact that laziness, comfort, and unhealthy foods are all addictions that create suffering. Caring about health acts as a way to counter these addictions similar to how meditation counters the addiction we have to thinking. Furthermore, one realizes that pleasure is itself completely relative and that you can find just as much and even more pleasure with healtht habits like eating well and exercise than being inactive and eating like shit. 

Good health provides so much more than a prolonged life. It increases overall energy levels, helps the immune system, helps emotional processing/stability, helps with body awareness/control and depending on how hard you push yourself, it can teach you a lot about pain, and suffering. It also provides a lot of functionality in life in terms of how strong or how much endurance you have for certain activities. 

My overall point- while death can certainly be a motivator, the benefits of valueing one’s health are much more than the quantity of life lived. We gotta think in terms of quality.

This was an imteresting question though. Thanks for asking

[Mu_]

1 hour ago, AlphaAbundance said:

Caring about health (nutrtion, exercising) it's all to prolong your life. There is no you to prolong so why focus on health and promoting longevity. Is it just fear of death?

Isn't it possible to not fear death and still eat in and live in a way that promotes the best quality life?  I could feed you sugar every day in large quantities and eventually your body would start to ache, get headaches, muscle tensions, you'd start to feel gross and live a potentially long life. Or I could feed you a very nice balanced nutritious selection of food and you'd live a potentially long life but feel great, up, clear seeing, thinking, positive energy levels.  Which would you prefer?

[Forestluv]

1 hour ago, AlphaAbundance said:

Caring about health (nutrtion, exercising) it's all to prolong your life. 

I would question that assumption. 

[bejapuskas]

5 hours ago, AlphaAbundance said:

@bejapuskas Well it seems like most people would be having those symptoms constantly if that was the severity of what happen when you stop caring about health. It seems like with okay health (which is what happens when you stop caring) you can still meditate successfully. Your body forces you to do the minimum actions toward health anway by making food pleasurable.

@AlphaAbundance  Don't you think you're just whining? 

[Nahm]

@AlphaAbundance

What is the source of well being? 

Why is it that you can choose to align with it, or not?

What is the nature of consciousness?

Stop and look at your breadcrumbs. 

[mandyjw]

For some it is. Almost everything we do is motivated out of fear of death. Even seeking enlightenment. As you become more aware you'll notice easier how unhealthy foods and habits cause suffering so often you'll naturally begin eating better. 

[KyleR]

Depends on your life goals surely. I still have problems relinquishing junk food cravings but hate how I feel afterwards which sometimes spirals out of control for days of low energy and procrastination. I value productivity and creativity much higher than a momentary sense of pleasure, much more gratifying aswell but both suffer tremendously after I eat shit. It’s a lot harder to be present when my energy is fucked aswell. Eating healthy yields a better standard of living and longevity is an appealing consequence, but if you feel there’s no need to raise your standards enjoy the shit out of it and suffer later   

[Leo Gura]

It is possible to pursue things out of avoidance of pain, or out of joy or higher consciousness.

If you are pursuing health out of avoidance of pain, you're doing it wrong.

[How to be wise]

@Leo Gura Until a truck hits you tomorrow.

You just can’t have health.

[Joseph Maynor]

Isn't believing Enlightenment theory just fear of death?

[Shadowraix]

Do what you want to do. If you don't desire to live healthily then don't. 

[How to be wise]

@Shiva But you can’t live well by protecting your body. You might get cancer tomorrow. Then it’s goodbye to ‘living well.’

[Jack River]

Neglecting ones health is actually more related to an incapability to die, psychologically that is. 

In psychological death(death of resistance/attachment/identification), there is no clinging/adherence to habits/grooves of that which that has been accumulated by thought.

Then there is a let go of the never ending reoccurring pattern of desire pursuing pleasure in which is the inevitable pain. This is where habits/addictions and such are born, as is fear. Really all arises in that subject object duality. 

When the mirage is seen for what it is (apparent subject/object division) then there is freedom. Health is a natural byproduct of the freedom/harmony when thought is put in its right place. 

 

Edited February 1, 2019 by Jack River