the body is just a tool. keep it sharp.#
even if you don’t know what you’re sharpening it for
i was in the shower last week. not thinking about anything deep. just standing there, letting water hit my face.
and then this thought came out of nowhere:
“what if my body is just… a rental?”
not in a spiritual “i am the soul” way. just… practically. like a tool i’m borrowing. something i didn’t design but i have to maintain.
i don’t know my purpose yet. maybe i’ll never know. but if purpose shows up one day – and i’m out of shape, distracted, mentally foggy – i won’t be able to chase it.
so i’m keeping the tool ready.
fitness. knowledge. mental peace.
whatever my purpose ends up being, i want to arrive at it with the best version of myself.
a quick detour into philosophy (don’t worry, i’ll keep it light)#
schopenhauer said something that stuck with me.
he said reality is driven by a blind, unconscious force he called “the Will.” it’s not rational. it just strives. endlessly. causing desire. causing suffering. never satisfied.
basically: your body has urges. they don’t come from your soul or your heart. they come from this restless, aimless energy that wants food, sex, comfort, more. it never stops.
nietzsche took it further.
he said suffering isn’t the enemy. it’s fuel. you can’t grow without it. true strength comes from enduring and affirming life – all of it, even the painful parts. he called it amor fati – love of your fate.
so here’s where i land:
the body has desires. they’re not bad – they keep us alive. but they can also carry us away if we don’t watch them.
and suffering? it’s not something to run from. it’s something that shapes us, if we let it.
but how do you know which desires are real and which are just noise?
i don’t. not fully.
so i just try to keep the tool in good shape. whatever comes, i’ll be ready.
the toilet story (yes, really)#
let me tell you something uncomfortable.
a while back, i broke my leg. bedridden for weeks. couldn’t stand. couldn’t walk.
and one of the most humbling things i experienced was… using the toilet.
i grew up using indian toilets. squatting. that’s what my body knew. that’s what felt right.
but suddenly, i couldn’t squat. i had to use a bedpan. lying down. with help. awkward. messy. undignified.
the first time was horrible. i felt helpless. my body refused to cooperate.
but by the third day? my body adjusted.
it figured out a way. a posture. a rhythm. the muscles learned. the mind stopped resisting. i could do it. not comfortably, but effectively.
that’s when it hit me:
the body adapts. always. if you give it no choice.
it doesn’t have ego. it doesn’t say “i’ve been doing this for thirty years, i can’t change.” it just… finds a way.
so if a bedridden body can learn to use a bedpan in three days – what else can we train it to do?
contrast with kids#
kids are masters of adaptation.
they fall. they get up. they try again. they don’t have “this is how i’ve always done it” in their vocabulary.
they learn new languages. new movements. new ways of being. effortlessly.
adults? we get stuck.
we develop a routine. a comfort zone. an identity around our habits. “i’m not a morning person.” “i can’t learn to code.” “i’m just not flexible.”
that’s not reality. that’s ego.
we cling to our old ways because changing them feels like losing ourselves.
but if you’re not changing, you’re stagnating.
and even water, when it stops flowing, attracts mosquitoes and insects.
only flowing water stays clean.
so ask yourself: are you flowing? or are you stagnant?
i don’t know my purpose (and that’s okay)#
this is the honest part.
i don’t know what i’m here for.
maybe it’s to write. maybe it’s to help people in security. maybe it’s to be a good son, a good friend, a good partner someday.
maybe it’s none of those things.
maybe i’ll never know.
but here’s what i do know:
when purpose reveals itself, i want to be ready.
i want my body to be strong enough to chase it. i want my mind to be sharp enough to understand it. i want my spirit to be calm enough to receive it.
so i’m not waiting for purpose to show up before i start working on myself.
i’m working on myself now. so when purpose shows up, i’m not playing catch-up.
so what does that look like in daily life?#
honestly? boring stuff.
- eating decently, not perfect
- moving my body, even if it’s just a walk
- reading things that stretch my brain
- sitting in silence sometimes so my mind doesn’t explode
- trying to catch myself when i’m spiraling into overthinking
nothing heroic. nothing instagram-worthy.
just… maintenance.
keeping the tool sharp.
the call to action#
i don’t know what you’re here for either.
but if you have a hunch – even a tiny one – start preparing.
your body is the only tool you’ll ever get. there’s no replacement. no upgrade. no refund.
so take care of it.
not because you’re vain. not because you want to look good at a wedding.
because one day, you might find something worth running toward.
and when that day comes – you don’t want to be too tired to run.
what’s one thing you’ve been putting off that would make your tool sharper? not tomorrow. today.
took ai help to clean up typos. my brain works faster than my fingers. xd