Deep Spirits

tcm2164 wrote:...those who appear to be the fittest are more likely to pass on their genes. If that is true then it would seem “natural” to want to appear youthful [reproductively fit].

Makes perfect sense... I agree.
And yes, I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting to improve yourself and remain fit (reproductively fit or otherwise), because staying fit usually means staying healthy, I just see certain methods as sort of masks.. things that have the purpose of covering up our real selves, and it is usually only such things that inspire me to speak out.

tcm2164 wrote:And for me personally, I’m just glad that I have some hair [even if it is slowly turning white.]

You know, I think if someone is genuinely, through and through a cool (for lack of a better word) person, then almost anything about them is cool. Be it a lack of hair, or gray hair or thick eyebrows or whatever.
My aunt had asthma and she used an inhaler. She was such a cool person that seeing her with that inhaler made people want to have an inhaler as well, kind of as a nifty accessory.
Of course that is silly, because in her case it was merely a necessity. But, it is a good example of how much personality is worth, namely everything.

There's no harm in a person considering their physical aesthetics and their mental aesthetics as diametrically opposed.
This is how I choose to live my life and it results in a portion of my time being spent on my appearance and so be it, it doesn't come at the detriment of my pursuit of existential fulfilment, nor does it make me or my personality any form of fakery.

If anything it enhances my ability to pursue personal fulfilment because it allows my physical trappings to be satiated and thus not bother my mental being.
As I understand it, I am a biological creature, a result of the evolutionary paradigm and also - by whatever design - a sapient, sentient being. This leaves me with the lingering limitations of evolution, certain desires, some are paradoxical (e.g. jealousy vs promiscuity), some are mandatory (e.g. hunger, fitness) and many are optional, undiscovered, poorly understood or extremely complex. As a sapient being however though I have higher concerns than these but that doesn't mean that all of which that are optional should be ignored, we can still partake in recreation, personal physical exploration and suchlike and that's fine. Thus, I take some time out of my day to maintain my physical aesthetic.

I think the important thing is realising the inherent choice involved, realising that these impulses are indeed optional and not letting them ever come at the detriment of your mental being. Which the majority of people don't, society would imply that physical appearance is a mandatory injunction when it plainly isn't.