“I had always felt that such signs of physical individuality as a bulging belly (sign of spiritual sloth) or a flat chest with protruding ribs (sign of an unduly nervous sensibility) were excessively ugly, and I could not contain my surprise when I discovered that there were people who loved such signs. To me, these could only seem acts of shameless indecency, as though the owner were exposing his spiritual pudenda on the outside of his body. They represented one type of narcissism that I could never forgive.”
Yukio Mishima Sun and Steel (p. 15).
Allowing yourself to become overweight or weak is narcissism at the highest degree. In the past, being fat, or weak was a luxury reserved only for royalty. This excludes those who are overweight or weak due to uncontrollable conditions–if your conditions are controllable, being overweight or weak is narcissistic.
Narcissism: selfishness, involving a sense of entitlement, a lack of empathy, and a need for admiration, characterizing a personality type.
Being overweight or obese is a burden on the self which is transferred to the community. By not taking care of oneself in the short or long-term the individual places the burden on others.
Being obese has a heavy gravity that pulls society down, making it weaker. A society composed of individuals with strong bodies, minds, and spirits is a stronger society than one that does not value strength across the three domains.
An individual that allows themself to become overweight or weak, which are essentially the same things at opposite ends of the same spectrum, makes society weaker. The strong must carry the burden of the weak, like how weak men create hard times which creates hard men who carry the weak forward or die trying.
Narcissism of the HIGHEST Class
To be accepting of obesity, or worse, to promote it, is narcissism of the highest class. To encourage weakness that others and society must bear is dishonorable and pathetic. It displays a spiritual sickness of the individual and the decay of culture. Cultural progress comes from the pursuit of mastery on the path.
Look up at night. We have an entire universe to master.
The worst part of tolerating and promoting weakness is the burden it places on the strong, who already take care of the involuntary weak members of society. An individual who is able, and with their ableness chooses to be a use-little weakling or a gluttonous dumpster, that narcissist reduces the ability of the strong to care for those who are involuntarily weak.
The able-bodied burden reduces the care the unable-bodied receives.
This is narcissism to the highest degree–demanding care when you do not need it, when you need to take care of yourself, preventing those who cannot or struggle to take care of themselves from receiving adequate care.
Obesity is estimated to cost America alone 200 billion dollars a year. [1] According to Scioto analysis, the cost to end homelessness in America would cost somewhere between 11-30 billion per year. [2]
If homelessness cost 30 billion per year, you could fix homelessness 3 times over if half of the obese people in America took care of themselves.
False Virtue
Do not trust those who present themselves as saints who do not take care of themselves and have the capacity to do so.
To encourage being a burden on society is a external cancer of the spirit visible to the naked eye.
The Pursuit of Pleasure Cannot be FULFILLED
Obesity is the pursuit of pleasure, which we know is a fool’s game because pleasure cannot be fulfilled, like drinking saltwater to quench your thirst.
Discipline is attractive in all things. Discipline is a foundation for courage, a universally-positive virtue. A well-sculpted body contributes to society in many different ways. Strength, speed, and agility, are useful attributes in all things.
Mastery is beautiful and terrifying.
Seeing a body that is obviously on the path to mastery is an inspiration to those who have an abundance mindset, and a threat to the weak, evil, confused, and lost who have a scarcity mindset.
Understand that a mentally or physically disabled person can be stronger in body, mind, and spirit than a fully able-bodied person if they will it, and they often will it, because having a limitation to overcome is steroids for the spirit.
- If you like the Samurai spirit, read Musashi’s 21 Rules For Life.