- Published on
Freedom from our physical form
- Authors
- Name
- Sam Kececi
2 years ago, I tore my ACL playing basketball. ACL tears are one of the most common injuries in sports, but they also carry a huge price.
A torn ACL will never heal on its own. I opted for surgery. The surgery is remarkable and grotesque, like something out of Frankenstein. They take a piece of a different part of your body (usually patellar or quad tendon), shape it into an ACL like a baker cuts and shapes dough, drill a hole through your bones, and thread the lump of flesh through the holes to form a new ACL. This is the best possible version of the procedure.
The reason ACL tears are so common is because our humanoid form never evolved for a world of playing basketball and soccer. There’s no reason to cut and pivot and twist your knee other than having fun. Your ACL is barely used when running, swimming, hiking, or lifting (things that actually mattered for survival). But we live in a world that no longer resembles the one within which our physical form evolved. Our physical form is poorly suited to our current reality.
There’s only one solution. Well, there are two.
- Incrementally address piece by piece each malady and shortcoming of the body, like a Ship of Theseus.
- Skip to the end of that inevitable drawn-out process and transcend our physical form altogether.
Of course, there are problems. Where does the body end and the mind begin? Many traditions teach us about the mind-body connection.
Consider this: If I replace my ACL, did that affect who I am mentally? What about my entire leg? Am I still Sam? Both legs? Legs and torso? Is the dividing line my brain? My nervous system? What about my gut microbiome? We know that influences my mood…
The problem with the delineation is that it implies that there is a dividing line of “me” and “not me”. Buddhism has a lot to say here. I have little to say. Other than we should pursue a world where transcending our physical form is possible and accepted as an augmented experience of reality. There are many ways to achieve this. I hope to play a role in making this possible.