"What is Strength”
By Dr Dimitri Karalis
Observing a tall young man with long and strong arms in the ancient marketplace gym, a friend of Isocrates expressed his admiration. 'Ah! This is someone who could become an ideal boxer with a little training,' he said. 'I agree,' Isocrates replied, 'but only when the wreath of victory is hanging very low and can only be won with a delicate touch.' In nature, we see that the towering and strong trees cannot withstand fierce storms as well as smaller shrubs. They are uprooted and damaged more easily many times.
The strongest wood in nature that does not break so easily is a shrubby tree called 'krania,' which bears its tasty fruits at the beginning of winter. It is highly sought after for the construction of shepherds' staffs but also serves as a reliable defensive tool when circumstances require.
In the realm of insects, we see the tiny and repugnant louse being the smallest and most detestable parasite in nature, yet it disrupts entire societies with its colonial skilfulness.
Excessive weight, as the renowned German doctor Louis Kuhne states, is not a sign of strength but a serious and dangerous metabolic disease. Although an overweight body may appear stronger than a thin one, it can never withstand illness and hard labour as effectively. The robustness of a finely crafted human body is flexible like a willow tree and tenacious like a beautiful cypress.
The impressive strength of an enormously bulky wrestler or boxer is partially due to the Earth's gravitational pull on each of them. Outside the Earth, in space where there is no gravity, mass does not function as a force. Even if an elephant were to collide with a tiny flea up there, it would neither feel pain nor shed blood. We use the term "weight" to denote the property of gravity reflecting on every mass, but it never represents the inner strength.
So, what is strength then? It surely isn't about volume or the result of excessive eating and excessive exercise, as all these consume nervous energy for movement, digestion, and exertion, especially when abused.
"Every gram of food consumed more than our body needs for metabolism signifies a loss of nervous energy and metabolic abnormalities as a consequence. If we remove this surplus food and replace it with more creative work in its place, then we will benefit twofold in health and in our pockets simultaneously. Strength is not generated with a full stomach or extensive exercise, but it is regenerated during sleep through the revitalization of the organism and the restoration of perfect blood circulation.
Fatigue never indicates the need for food but always for sleep. Every night, we renew our strength in the bedroom, not at the dining table.
Our ancient ancestors used to say that excessive food not only wastes money and precious time but also destroys our health simultaneously. Laziness originates from these abuses and especially from gluttonous habits. We observe enthusiastic and fanatic athletes spending a lot of time in gyms to become strong, they say.
Of course, they eat a lot when they exercise a lot, but what is the benefit? With less exercise and moderate food, they achieve the same goal faster and healthier—saving money, strength, fatigue, and nervous reserves at the same time."
We know from experience that when the muscles of the body are excessively developed, the mind usually remains underdeveloped. We never encounter individuals with overly bulging arms to be intellectually admirable. Usually, they behave aggressively, roughly, and earn their living as personal bodyguards or in various physical professions. It is even said that when the muscles of our ancient ancestors started excessively bulging, they lost their brilliant civilization simultaneously. They apparently violated their sacred maxim 'Mēdén Agan' (Nothing in Excess) and may have been influenced by the rough and intellectually indifferent Roman conquerors.
The ability of a person to perform well in their actions comes from four aspects:
Man is a tremendous electric force and does not need many coals like a steam engine to move, as it generates greater power and endurance when consuming less and purer food.
We need a clear mind, steady nerves, an elastic body, and mental courage to be whole as human beings. None of the above natural gifts should be absent if we want to succeed in life. One cannot think deeply and waste their strength on time-consuming digestion and various pleasurable abuses simultaneously. The economy of nervous reserves is more necessary than financial savings.
The deceptive illusion of feeling slightly stronger after eating and from other stimulating practices comes from the acceleration of blood circulation to expel the excess and unnatural food. It becomes, in short, a necessary waste of nervous energy to eliminate the unwanted and dangerous invader in the body (especially with alcoholic drinks). These are the reasons that lead many unhappy people into habits of gluttony, alcoholism, drug addiction, various stimulating narcotics, laziness, bankruptcy, and ultimately into prison and death.
Orthodox Medicine, I believe, has a sacred duty to enlighten humanity further to free it from the tremendous risk of its hygiene collapsing. The fact that Preventive Medicine is more effective as a therapy and less costly than pharmacology is indisputable. The medical profession should be a service to humanity, not a commerce, keeping the world away from the enlightenment of hygiene.
No comments:
Post a Comment