Acquired tastes

For much of my life, I attracted and exuded chaos. One could say “thrived” in it, except it was misery.

You’ve heard before that your body learns to crave certain foods, your microbiome even adapts to, for instance, a high sugar diet.

At 25 years old, as a bit of a hobo in the bay area, I realized that everyone is laboring. Even sitting outside of Whole Foods, begging for a sandwich and beer, is work. It became clear to me that, not only was this condition uncomfortable, it meant I was unable help the next person — I couldn’t even make a phone call without asking someone else for minutes for my go phone.

I decided at that point to apply my labor constructively, but it took a few years to acquire a taste for sanity.