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It is good news that coffee won’t kill you. In fact, that shit is supposed to extend your life. What is certain is that java is not bad for your health though I can attest that it will make your hands shake and give you heart flutters if taken in huge quantities. When that happens, you are feeling right. I love being wired on caffeine.

I consider coffee to be an unqualified good. This will take some explaining. A qualified good would be sex which can feel awesome and be healthy as long as you manage to avoid disease and pregnancy and heartbreak. Another qualified good would be wine which is healthful within certain limits but harmful beyond those limits. With all of these things, you have to qualify them to attain the good. You don’t have to do this with unqualified goods. In short, you can’t fuck up an unqualified good.

Coffee is an unqualified good because it isn’t going to kill you or shorten your life the way tobacco or other substances might. You can drink the hell out of it, and the worst thing that can happen to you is that you might lose a night of sleep and get a bunch of shit done. My hero on this would be Voltaire who supposedly drank 50 cups of coffee a day. I can personally attest to the stimulating powers of coffee on the brain. I do amazing shit after a few cups of coffee. I will have to work my way up to 50 cups though.

Another unqualified good is exercise. Some people may claim that you can be an exercise addict or become overtrained, but I find this laughable. This is like saying you are in danger of becoming too rich. It is a good problem to have and certainly not an epidemic.

Another unqualified good is work. Work brings happiness. It can be work for an employer or a personal project or business. It doesn’t matter. Being busy beats boredom. Plus, it is sweet to get paid for it. I have never regretted going to work, but I have regretted every day of work I have ever missed.

The downside to work that people will cite is time away from loved ones. This is that whole workaholic thing, but I honestly don’t buy into that. Like the overtraining deal with exercise, people want to claim that workaholism will destroy you and your family. This is bullshit. Being a long haul truck driver or an armed services member overseas might destroy your family. But as long as your ass is home every night, you will do just fine. I am also becoming fond of the Sabbath rest idea. You work six days and rest on a seventh. I had an English teacher in school who refused to assign homework on Fridays, so kids could go home and enjoy “family living.” That lady was smart.

The Puritans were like this. They worked six days and rested on Sunday for the sake of worship. I see that as being a good balance between work and leisure. Rest should be something you earn.

Another unqualified good is reading and study. I am a big believer in autodidacticism and lifelong learning. You can’t be too smart. You can’t read all day and also work all day, but it helps if you listen to podcasts and audiobooks. I learn a lot from audio sources.

Writing is my last unqualified good. It is always good to write. Writing is creative and makes you think. It is your mind uploaded to the world. When I am gone, my words will remain.

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