Saturday, April 5, 2008

All is One

I find myself in an unusual scenario, reminiscent of Ms. Clothes Horse's, as I am writing this in the middle of the night...

Now, usually, you have to pry me off the bed with a spatula by 10:3o p.m., so exhausted am I by the numerous daily responsibilities of the modern, adult existence. Which, let me tell you, is a blessing because, by nature, I'm a person who tends to live hard: My motto is some self-serving conflation of "if you want something done right you have to do it yourself" and "anything worth doing is worth doing well" with a healthy pinch of the critical and an incessant drive to "realize my vision". Enthusiasm ain't just a word for me. It's a driving force.

A couple of days ago I read a fantastic post by IHeartFashion at Je Ne Sais Quoi which really resonated on a few levels. On the one hand it spoke of conceptual moderation (and it's delish flipside immoderation) and of the veritable toothpaste squeeze of subverting one desire for another. On the other hand it spoke of diet and nutrition (and specifically Gary Taubes' nutitional science tome Good Calories, Bad Calories), a book whose philosophy is deeply resonant with one I have developed over the past two years. That book is hardcore and it could change your feelings about everything you eat from now on. Of course, so could food poisoning or visiting a cattle farm, so let me at least try to quell the preach in my tone.

I have a vision of my friends' eyes glazing over just about now (you know who you are!). Recall: My enthusiasm is relentless. Poor peeps have spent so much time listening to my feelings about health I can imagine it gives them a headache :-) Because this blog has been, heretofore, a forum about fashion and style, I haven't really broached the topic as yet. But I'm beginning to see interesting ways to integrate it into the larger style theme. So, you may be in for a series on nutrition and lifestyle and its impact on one, stylistically. Thanks, Enc, for getting this mental ball rolling.

However, for now, let's focus on (im)moderation, shall we? IHeart, in her post, spoke eloquently about her own propensity to do more / be more and about the nature of drive as an overriding force. To precis: She's spent the last while trying to give up consumerism, prescription narcotics and old-school dietary habits at the same time. And what she's observed is how appetite adapts itself to whatever it must in order to survive. As if to say "I am the one thing you will not control". Like the dear, crazy friend you've had for years, the one who calls you from a payphone at that club intermittently - at 2:30 in the morning - because she's so crushed by her latest circumstance. So beautiful and unstable.

My appetite and I have been locked in textbook codependence, it would seem, my whole life long. It stokes me, it taunts me, it propels me (for my own good or to my detriment). It possesses me at times to the extent that I am in its thrall. Perhaps you can relate?

So, what (you may be wondering at this point) does this have to do with wrapping up disposable fashion week? Well... Stop lavishing desire on cheesecake or weed or atavan or sex or workaholism or stealth-parenting and you may just find yourself shopping a whole lot. And, if volume business is your thing (but you're not a socialite), the high street may be seeing much of your disposable income - emphasis on disposable. Which brings us back to that whole issue of ethical spending...

Now you know, I generally find the bargains in other locales (namely upscale sale bins and vintage stores) but sometimes a girl gets sucked in by the lure.

As I try to bring more balance into my life, I am occasionally reminded of my own propensity to thwart it. So how do we pass on the cake and eat too? I'm still working on it (thankfully). When I have some more ideas, natch you'll be the first know...

8 comments:

  1. Oh great, throw ME under the bus! ;)

    I think it's a great idea for your blog.

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  2. I'll add that there are many ways you could go with this, and I'll be interested to see where it takes you.

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  3. I really like this post and how it is written. part confessional, part analysis, it really hits the nail on the head for how a lot of women feel in relation to their 'appetite' to consume...

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  4. Thank you Enc - and please do not feel like a bus is about to hit you :-) I'm still sorting it out but I hope to have some intriguing angle shortly.

    Riz: I appreciate your comment - esp. in light of the amazing analytical quality of your posts. Pls. stay tuned for the follow up. K

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  5. finally got the opportunity to read this...

    top quality post! riz summed it up really well. i'm with you on everything in that second paragraph; it's hard for me to give something any less than my all.

    so where to from here? (looking forward to it....)

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  6. Thanks for taking the time to read this, Dreamecho, and for your comment. This didn't really garner much attention - though I did put my heart into it. (That's how it goes, I guess...) Where to go from here, well, I think starting next week I will do "Holistic Style" week. Which isn't so much a crunchy granola theme but an ideology about how we can work to be our best selves.

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  7. holistic style is the underlying foundation of my blog, and by extension, who i am. however, i've yet to do a comprehensive featured post on it -- it's usually more embedded in the subtleties, though it is more prevalent in my "contemplation" category. anyway, i'm really interested in seeing your perspective. (and never once for a moment did i think you were referring to granola. ;) you bridge the intellectual, emotional and fun realms magnificently.

    as for not garnering much attention, it's true...the things with easy access appeal, like cute clothes and pics, are a breeze to appreciate and comment on. also, your blog is still in its infancy. while i throw my spirit into just about every post, i recall putting out some especially mind-wrenching "contemplation" posts at the beginning of my blog and not getting much feedback. *sigh* it's like, if you write a substantial, close-to-the-heart piece but no one reads it, is it still a post? now that my readership has grown a bit, sometimes i think of reposting some of those old ideas to see what others think.

    but, for what it's worth, two of the bloggers that i respect the most -- i.e., riz (she's just the best!) and enc -- picked up on it. and that counts for a lot.w

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  8. Dreamecho: Thank you so much for your comment. I love your blog and the sensibility to bring to it so I really appreciate that you would take the time to write.

    Ah, the contemplative approach of the newbie blogger. I read this post to my husband and we were both nodding our heads at your insight: If a post falls in a forest does anybody hear it?! (When one first starts the blogging process, particularly, I think this question is always running through one's mind -- well mine, certainly. Even though my blog is new, I still have some "serious" posts I have considered reposting. They're too new, on balance, to do it - though your posts may be far enough in the past to do it quite successfully.

    I LOVE Enc and Riz - they are so compelling in their unique ways (much as you are in your blog). Getting on their radar has been really meaningful to me too. Kxo

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