From our reading, Serres has made it clear that the human species is a parasite. We cannot sustain ourselves and rely on the bounty of the earth, harvesting grains and vegetables and creating space for herds of animals to grow big and fat so that we can bring them to slaughter; taking the energy that the sun and earth have provided is the only way humans can survive. Other than being a parasite to our earth Serres has also made it clear that we are parasites in social relationships and situations as well. The host to the guest and the guest to the host, one takes from the other, one lives off of the other. As I have been reading the work of Serres and can see the argument that Serres is making I have begun to think that the human’s parasitical relationship can be broken down one more level. We are parasites to the world, parasites to each other, and could it be that we are even parasites to ourselves.
There are so many preconceived thoughts, situations, and roles that we come out of the shoot hardwired for. These stereotypes and roles play on our actions in everyday life. Whether we succeed and fulfill theses roles or not our emotions are affected and our mental state is affected as well. Success and failure builds our “character”, and these social situations weigh on our minds even if the relationship is one within our own minds. Our mind becomes a parasite on our body and our body becomes a parasite to our mind, the mind causing actions and the body changing thoughts.
All humans have similar aspirations throughout their life. Most strive to complete various goals, be involved in some community relationship, and have a utilitarian aspect to their lives. These events of our lives are looked at as a linear progression. Getting better and building from one level up to the next. The desire or thoughts cause our body to take action, but the actions don’t always live up to the expectations that we have built for them. When we succeed we are satisfied, content, happy with our self and the outcome, and all our previous effort is validated. This validation gives confidence to take the next step and our mind is at ease. When we fail to reach our goals or the next step is not what we had expected thoughts of “why?” and “for what?” come to mind, we are disappointed and in the future are less likely to take risks and to put ourselves out of our comfort zone. This comfort zone is where everyone likes to live trying to spend as much time in the median area as possible and while reducing the number of outlier events. What expectations our mind creates affect what actions our body makes, and in turn the actions our body makes will in the future affect what expectations we build for ourselves.
Some expectations are ingrained in us from birth. The expectation that life is a linear progression is a common one. In this mindset we move up the stairs of life, thinking that the future always holds a brighter light than the one we currently have. An example of a common progression through life goes from adolescence, to college, to a good job, a companion, marriage, children, and retirement. How is our mind and body affected when this progression is not what we expected? Doubt encompasses our mind in these situations, for example if one is unable to conceive a child – What is wrong with me, with us, with this relationship? – and the same if one cannot retire – Will I be working like this for the rest of my life, where is the rest that I have earned? – our mind begins to feed the fire of doubt and the melancholy feeling can spread from mind to body. This concept of depression is an obvious example of the mental state that sucks the life from the body. It is a physical state that stems from a failure to fulfill the mental expectation of a linear progression. The only cause of this physical state is the preconceived notion of something different, the mental parasite that feeds information and creates an expectation for the physical self.
The power that the mind has on the body is very strong, but the body can also exert a force on the mind to satisfy and quell the ever-present narrative. Over my weekend spent at my grandparent’s retirement home I observed many actions that come from the human’s need to be useful and the power that movement has over the mind. Even as the physical capabilities of my grandfather weaned and his cognitive state deteriorated his personal drive to be useful or productive remained strong. In his mid-nineties my grandpa still has the motor skills to be self-supportive, but his ability to express a complete thought is no longer with him. As a man who spent most of his life in a career using his skill of communication rather than physical skill, the loss of useful communication seems to give him pain that a large part of the meaning to his life has been lost. To combat this mental pain he has taken on the task of folding and saving his napkins from every meal. This task, although small, in some way has given meaning to his daily life; a goal to complete that he is capable of. The physical movement and physical accomplishment that comes with the task of folding his napkins sustains the mental need to be productive. The physical movements of the host body exert a force stronger than the power of the guest that is the mind, therefore allowing his mind to find some accomplishment from the days past.
The interrelationship between mind and body is a push and pull relationship. The mental expectations push and pull the physical being, giving strength or weakness to the body. At the same time the body has the power to complete and give meaning to actions and events in an effort to feel content in one’s mind. This is a powerful relationship of parasitism that seems to make the strong stronger and the weak weaker.
No comments:
Post a Comment