We Are Here to CREATE!

Perfectly Paleo Exercise

“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: ‘I have to go to work – as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for – the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?’”- Marcus Aurelius


I am utterly convinced now of the importance of creating something as part of a healthy lifestyle- a paleo type of lifestyle!

It’s not all just about eating right, sleeping well, keeping in touch with your “tribe” and family, and doing proper exercise in the beauty of nature.  Of course, as I go about ad nauseum on my podcasts and blogs, all of those things are just crucial to total health and well-being.  But there is one more aspect of life that, if ignored, will leave you ultimately unfulfilled and even not fully a realized human being- creation!

Now, I don’t mean you have to sculpt statues or paint works of art.  (Although those would be great!)  I just mean, you need to have things that you work at, things that use your skills to realize the creation of something, anything really, of value.  And it could just be of value to you, even if no one else appreciates what you create, heck- maybe you are like Van Gogh, and will be revered after your death.  It doesn’t really matter though- it needs to be something that fulfills you.

Maybe you love to cook, and you take one day to master a particular recipe- great!  You are a creator- for that day.  The thing is, though, you need to create pretty much daily, or at least most days.  We are not meant to live our lives to be “entertained”, but sadly, in our modern processed food world, most of us increasingly are relying on “processed entertainment” to keep us occupied.

Even if you get up early as I recommend after a good 8-9 hours of sleep, exercise thoroughly from your head to your toes, drink your fat-laden coffee and your green smoothie, and then meditate or pray for 20 minutes… well, that’s not enough.  Not really, although you will be amazingly healthy after a bit of living like that, and will look and feel great.  You will be vibrant and alive with healthy energy, and will enjoy going to the grocery of the farmer’s market, stocking your larder, and planning wonderful family meals.

Let’s say you also have an ample income, and are quite secure in your home life and financial situation.  You go to a great church, you volunteer and do things for charity, and are giving by helping out with friends, family, and neighbors.  All of that is wonderful, and your life will be quite full and fulfilling to a large extent.

But- if you fill your quiet time, your time alone, by watching movies, reading books, watching televised sports, and surfing the internet randomly… you are not a fully autonomous, fulfilled human being.  You will feel a lack.  That is a lack of creative purpose!

Remember when you were a young boy or girl- when you awakened in the morning, you could scarcely wait to jump out of bed and start in on your latest infatuation!  Whether it was your dollhouse, or your little fort you were building with your brother, that creative endeavor was so exciting and energizing that you could hardly stand it to stay in bed one more instant- you wanted to create.

This want, or need to create never leaves us.  We leave it, moving on to more “grown up” pursuits, usually making money takes over.  And making money, while necessary, it is so easy to let it consume us.  After you have enough, when you can live a relatively relaxed life without material want, (which is the state of most Americans today, whether they realize it or not), it is time to recognize your true calling.  To create!

To grow a garden, or sew a quilt.  To make music, or write a book.  You can build a hot-rod, or restore a motorcycle.  The point is, it doesn’t matter what your subconscious- your right brain- tells you would fulfill you.  But you have to listen!  You can’t drown out that little inward voice by binge watching Netflix or Amazon Prime video for hours, or studying up on the NFL fantasy football stats.  Not even by reading great classics of literature, although that is great in and of itself, that is still “consumption”.

And we are all, all of us here, I firmly believe- to create.

And, just as in ignoring our evolutionary biology by eating modern processed fake foods will destroy us physically and mentally,   leading us down the pharmaceutical drug based yellow brick road of sickness and the symptom-masking dependence on ever more and more drugs and medical procedures-

So will ignoring the biological, evolutionary imperative need to be creative crush both our clear vision of just why we are here, and what we are here for- it will crush our spirit.

Whatever your prime directive is, it is within you.  Don’t stifle it, and most especially don’t stifle it in the endless acquisition of, and fascination with- money!  Your true, evolutionary, paleolithic, right-brained intuitive self, the one that jumped out of bed instantly to get to work on the latest creation as a child knows- that is just a distraction, a distraction from our real purpose.

We are here to create.

Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #83 Grill your way to health and fitness!

I know, my paleolithic friend: that sounds a little “simplistic” to you... but, I really think that this could be the foundation of your mastery of the paleo diet and lifestyle, and so your entry into long-term, lasting health and fitness!

I was mowing today, and looking back from my tractor seat, I saw that the mowing looked, well...spotty!  I stopped the tractor, lifted up the hydraulics on the 3 point hitch, but I kept the mower deck ON.  I crawled down next to the mower deck...  Peering up, I saw the blades on the deck were not turning!  Oh no!!

Bottom line: the belt that keeps the blades turning had frayed, and finally snapped- I was out of business!  And I had planned to work on my new, print book this afternoon- PaleoJay’s Smoothie Cafe- the book!.  Oh well, the best laid plans of mice and men, as they say.

I took off the mower deck shroud, cleaned up the mess of broken belt and grass clippings, and went in to order a new belt.  Not the end of the world, was it?  Yet I was stressed out, a bit.  We all like our plans to go as we expect.  So, I went to my grill!

Earlier, I had bought a “flat chicken” from the local grocery, and I started up my Weber charcoal grill!  I have a propane torch, and I used it to fire up the coconut hull briquets I added- these coconut charcoal briquets are the best- the most even heat you will find, and the finest ash residue ever, even better than real wood charcoal.  (Although, for high heat, the real wood is better).  As for Kingsford and other standard charcoals- forget it!  Loaded with petroleum byproducts, you might as well burn plastic under your food...

Not flat chicken, but almost as good!

Propane grills suck, in comparison to charcoal.  No arguments, no nothing- the heat is wimpy, and why not just use your kitchen stove?  It’s exactly the same!

OK- enough grilling philosophy!  I put on some brats, and my flat chicken, seasoned with garlic, salt and pepper- a flat chicken cooks faster than a whole chicken, by the way, since it has had the back bone removed, so it lays flat on the grill.  A recipe for crispy tastiness bar none!

Still, it takes a good hour and a half...

All the better, I thought!  There is nothing more Paleo than sitting by a flaming, smoking grill, perhaps with a tall, cool, cheap beer brewed of corn, and meditating on life.

And, after about 15 minutes or so, why not do a set of pushups?  So I did, and then another.  Why not some pullups, since that felt good?  So I did.

I had soft country music blaring from my garage radio, and I started feeling good; positively tribal!  I just kept alternating sets of pushups and pullups, drinking a little beer, and then checking on the chicken- I was in heaven!!

And that is exactly my point!  The Paleo diet- at least the real paleo diet, is not complicated, esoteric, or hard to fathom.

You just need to grill some real meat.  Do some real exercise, not complex routines of Olympic barbells and machines, jogging and Crossfit and Pilates!  Give me a break- do something our grandparents would recognize as food, and also as beneficial exercise!

Eat meat you grill yourself!  Do exercise that is simple, and actually benefits you in real world, performance measurable terms!  And do it all at home, in the real world environment that you actually live in, not a gym or clinic or whatever!

If you buy real foods, prepare them yourself (on your grill is my favorite!), and also drink a Paleo Green Smoothie each and every day, and do exercise daily (again, at home), you will be as healthy as a person can be.

No!

You don’t need clinics, doctors, dentists, or gyms.  Really!  You only need your own commitment to natural health, and a willingness to ignore the charlatans intent on selling you bad food, bad medicine, and bad exercise.

NO!!!

Check out this episode!

NO NO NO!!!!

PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe #85 Be a Paleo Redneck!

If you think about it, paleo folks are kind of old school rednecks- they tend to hunt and fish their food, are outdoors almost all the time (hence the “red neck”), tend to be rural dwellers... kind of like hillbillies used to be before welfare and Walmart.  Kind of like Jed Clampett and Jethro, or Little Abner from the old newspaper comic - quite fit and self reliant, since he provided for his own simple needs and that of his family and community all by himself!

There is a lot in small town and rural America that is the very best that this country and its civilization has to offer.  Our major cities are amazing in their size and structures, but at what cost?  They are increasingly unsafe and crime-ridden, bankrupt, and absorb most of the revenues of the country and each individual state they are in... large areas of our major cities are actual, living nightmares of smog, crime, bad chemicalized water and air, and hugely overcrowded.

Elvis is a good metaphor for what has happened to America.  The young Elvis Presley was a paleo redneck- a good kid from a rural, small town upbringing- slim and fit very good looking... and, of course, with a great ear and voice!

Then, just as all of the US started doing in those years after World War 2-

He got too much, too fast, and way too long!

Lil Abner

I mean too much of everything he thought he wanted.  And, he simultaneously lost what was really valuable to him- his privacy, his ability to walk around unnoticed, the quiet of the rural nature he was accustomed to, small town life, real friends that liked him for himself... he lost everything by gaining too much that was just glitzy and fake.

So did all of us, just to a lesser extreme.

We all take for granted in the western world now that we have enough to eat; too much actually. Too little movement, too much sitting, too much money even!  I mean, most would disagree, but think about it: in the 1960’s, families only had one car.  All meals were prepared and eaten at home.  One black and white television, and an AM radio in the car (with Elvis on it).

Now little kids have smart phones, computers, iPads, and big screen TV’s- and this includes welfare kids!  Cars are common to be owned by 16 year olds, and MOST meals are purchased at fast food and other convenience outlets.  And now, the husband AND the wife are expected to work full time, and much of the salary of the second income goes to taxes, which mainly go to support failing big cities...

And now most of us, just as Elvis did, have become fat, sick, addicted to all kinds of prescription and non prescription drugs, are depressed and feel like we have no time, so we stay up late to “have a life” and watch our big screen TVs, leaving us not enough time for quality sleep...

the Clampetts

So hey- the future is in our past!  We know what we need to to, and it is already just beginning to start to happen. The move OUT of the big metropolitan areas, back to smaller communities.  Small local farms and ranches, smaller churches, local credit unions and banks, local government over big government, state over federal, county over state...

PaleoJay Redneck

It worked wonderfully before, and it will again!  It won’t be exactly the same, but it will be quite similar, just with different and better technologies, but we will be restored and rejuvenated as- PALEO REDNECKS!