Sometimes, when it's time to write I look up articles about stilt walking. Other times, it's the inflammation factor of various foods. Sugar is particularly high. Sweet potatoes are hugely anti-inflammatory. Sometimes I find myself reading about recent elections in Greece regarding the European bailout or looking at artsy pictures of breasts or how to make bitters or youtube videos of elephants giving birth. I wonder if I'm addicted to information.
I binge on it, scanning through articles with the dilated pupils of a winning gambler...or a losing one, I suppose either end is a hook. Information (I've read) is rare in nature and so, like sugar, we are attracted to it. Today information (like sugar) is available everywhere, but our biological evolution has not caught up. So I grab for it like it won't be there tomorrow. Like I need to fill up my brain quickly because in this jungle of unpredictability, even if I'm not hungry, some other ape may gobble it, leaving me regretfully unhealthy in my lack of knowledge regarding the mating habits of diamond back snakes.
I ask myself these days, "Is this research necessary? Or is this me getting my information fix?" If the latter is true, I put the computer down. I stand up and rub my belly, pinch my nipples. I dance in a circle, spin and let my arms flail around my sides like noodles. I put a hand down my pants and ping a finger on that sensitive bean. Sometimes I smell it, just to remind myself I am an animal. I go for a walk and smell other flowers too. I drink a glass of wine, eat a strawberry picked this morning. I hope someone will kiss me spontaneously and toy with the idea of doing the same. Sometimes this body needs remembering.
Incomparable
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