Ummmm ... Exercise Vs Chores
As with Ongo-Bongo, I didn't quite know what to call this page.
Here's what I'm trying to do (it's been on my mind for years):
In rich countries like Australia, exercise and sports are big business, and hundreds of millions of people are engaged in such activities.
A few years ago I decided to research an article comparing the relative exercise and health merits of formal exercise and sports with those of simple domestic chores, such as lawn mowing, painting a fence, carrying groceries home, washing bathrooms and so on.
Why? Because people pay money to exercise and then often pay hired help to mow their lawns. It makes no sense.
Some of you might know that I earn most of my income from physical labour, usually gardening. One of the reasons I do this is because people pay me to keep fit. To me, that does make sense. As much as I never want to go to work.
How mad would I be to spend money at a gym when people put money in my hand for getting a bit sweaty?
That's not the main reason, though. In our societies we have millions of physically disabled people. There are millions of old people who cannot carry their own groceries or paint their own fence, and haven't much money to hire someone. Quite frankly, I think this is one of the biggest issues in society and, to my knowledge, no one has raised it publicly. My question: How selfish is our generation that it pays for exercise and the needy people are suffering?
How many calories are burnt off when I weed a garden? What does housecleaning do for muscle tone? How is the heart improved by changing a light bulb for an elderly or disabled person? What arterial and venous health can lawn mowing impart?
What are the financial considerations here?
How much money is spent on exercise and sport (clothes, fees, etc)
How much is spent by elderly and disabled persons on hired help?
I tried to get help from a government sports academy in Sydney. I tried to get help from a Physical Education teacher. However, I was met with a wall of indifference, and possibly obstruction.
I want to write the article, but I don't have the time. It will take quite a lot of that. So I want to be co-author. Will someone do a lot of the research, with my faithful assistance, and share the glory (or the abuse) when this article is published in the almanac?
Sorry, no $$$, but I feel sure we could sell the article to magazines or newspapers around the world, each time getting a nice fee.
It has to be well done. Most, I think, could be researched on the Net. I hope an Ongo-Bongoist will see the merit in this story and collaborate with me.
Please email me, and we might be able to talk turkey.
Abundance and gratitude,
Pip
