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Fukkenshredded
New member
Ah...it was just a matter of time, wasn't it? The critical mass has been reached, resulting now in the phenomenon of mob mentality. Everyone wants to be heard. Everyone wants to count. But pretty soon, just when we try to swallow the ingnorant notion that we are all equal, we begin to discover that in fact, we are not. And there it is, isn't it? Think about the correlation of this 'karmic rating' and the general bodybuilding mentality. Its suddenly not about being excellent for its own sake, but rather, it becomes a bastard child of this endeavor and grows into the hideous goal of being better than your brother. I can compare the karma point idea to the common and perile idea that a bigger, stronger man is somehow a superior man. Many lifters that I know lift for the sole purpose of intimidating others. This is easily understood when you consider that one of the primary motivating factors of lifting weight (in the beginning) is to dispel the intimidation that one feels as a result of being perceived as small or weak. So the solution is simple, right? Lift and get bigger, and I will no longer feel intimidated by my own smallness. But look carefully at what so often happens here. There is not an eradication of intimidation, but instead there is simply a shift of direction. I am now big enough to intimidate others. Or win the girl. Or whatever. Its all an illusion. The endeavor is still primal in the brute...the establishing of a higher rank in the pecking order of the mob. And now you are saying to yourself that yep...you know people like that, but YOU are not one. Right? I am ashamed to admit that I am guilty of the very thing I despise. I have a great deal of my own ego tied up into my appearance. If I am not shredded to the bone I begin to get irritated, and eventually I become disillusioned with the idea that my worth is a result of my bodyfat percentage. I even fall for this self dillusion with the conscious knowledge that there are certainly as many ripped assholes as there are out of shape genuine brothers of humanity. I don't mean to get on a soapbox here (I am often guilty of that, too), but I wonder what would happen if there were a steroid that fortified the mind. If you could inject something that would make you kinder and gentler, more compassionate, etc....would you? I wish that there were a way to trade cuts for wisdom, or muscles for kindness. There is plenty of brute strength in this world, but amazingly, there is not a corresponding amount of protection of the weak and lifting of the small. I looked at this thread on the board about no more pictures and posedowns and so forth. Nothing but a power play. A juvenile attempt to ratify their position on the ladder of perceived importance. I'll tell you something. I am certainly blessed with a very fit body. I am lean and strong and carry the appearance of endurance and grit. And yet, it is my closest friend...a woman with cancer, a woman who battles fatigue every day, who is able to help others both in and out of the gym much more effectively than I ever have. I look strong, but she IS strong. I wish that sending someone strength, or self esteem, or karma, really was as simple as clicking a mouse. I would click her all the karma I could ever get, and then some. But guess what? I can't. And that is a good thing. Why? Because character, strength, leadership...these are things that must be EARNED. I train every day to look better. I am trying to train every day to BE better as well. You wanna click some karma? Then go do something positive for someone today. That's the real deal, and it can't be clicked away or voted off. PEACE
