When Systems Stop Working

I'm a great believer in systems of all kinds, be it in health, economy or politics. Because systems work. They deliver results... until they don't.

Broken systems

Systems break down over time. What used to work, will eventually stop working.

A natural reaction to this is to double down on what used to work. But making systems more rigid than they used to be, in pure defiance of their diminishing return, won't help. It will only make things worse.

Health

This has become clear to me now that I've reached an age when good health no longer can be taken for granted. My response to this has been to look for remedies of various kinds. Many of which have been successful. But only for a while.

I used to take cumin seeds for my digestion, and I've tried various kinds of exercises to stay in shape. But the effects wears out. They either stop working, or they start producing counterproductive results.

So, don't get stuck in a routine for longer than it makes sense. The key to good health isn't the routines themselves, but our ability to pay attention and notice differences.

I'm currently indulging myself in gardening, and the results have been remarkable. I feel fitter and more awake. So, I will continue doing this for the foreseeable future.

Other things have stopped working, so I've abandon them.

Key to success is awareness, and attention to how we feel at the end of the day. Everything else remains a perpetual experiment, with remedies coming and going.

Economy

The same goes for our personal finances.

The goal of this too, is a sense of wellbeing. When money is placed right, we can relax, with a high degree of certainty about our future. But sooner or later, we need to move on.

In my case, I've sold some gold to buy a house. I wanted a garden, and gold in a drawer doesn't provide for that kind of entertainment. So, it was time to move on. We shifted some wealth from metals to real-estate, and we feel better for it, both emotionally and health wise.

Politics

As for politics. It's comforting to know that things never remain the same for long. Politics always move from reasonable, and sometimes even sensible, to utter lunacy.

We don't have to fret about this, because the things that stop working won't suddenly start working again just because a bunch of lunatics double down on their insanity.

Gardening