“Firstly: body and upright posture,” he said. “The ability to hold the body straight, later upright walking. That is not just a way of moving. It is a foundation for health, mobility and fitness – even in old age. We are not built to sit permanently. Sitting is not neutral. It is a deviation from the blueprint.”
Hans saw how the man next to him, who had already changed his sitting position once, involuntarily placed his legs differently. The speech had a physical effect; that is the advantage of the biological: it hits.
“Secondly,” Dr. AuDHS continued, “social interaction and empathy. Curiosity about others, dealing with hierarchies, reading emotions, affection through gestures and gifts, popularity through favors.”
He said “favors” with an ironic emphasis, as if he knew how unedifying this word sounds in the bourgeois ear – and how true it is nonetheless.
“That sounds banal,” he said, “but it is still central today: relationship competence is a survival advantage. And it is an advantage for happiness. Because a person without belonging is not only alone – he is biologically on alert.”
Hans thought of the height, of the seclusion, of the valley that does not count; and he thought that alarm sometimes also means secrecy.
“Thirdly: sleep and regeneration,” said Dr. AuDHS. “Safe, quiet sleep was not a luxury, but the basis of life. And it remains so: regeneration is not a break from life. It is a condition for a good life. A well-rested person experiences the world differently from an overtired one. And he makes different decisions.”
Hans felt his ring on his finger grow cold, as if it wanted to contradict: decisions, yes; but protocols, above all protocols.
“Fourthly: omnivory and adaptation,” said Dr. AuDHS. “We are biologically flexible. We can eat in different ways. Not ideologically, but practically: our system is built for variation. Quality and overall balance are decisive – not the perfect dogma.”
One could hear someone somewhere in the room, who perhaps had still eaten an ideology yesterday, exhale softly.
“Fifthly: tools become technology,” he said. “From ‘using something’ to ‘mastering a procedure’. Acting in a goal-oriented way. Solving problems. That not only gives success – it also gives self-efficacy. And self-efficacy is a factor of happiness: the feeling of not just being at the mercy of things, but being able to shape them.”
Hans thought: shaping. He, who had once withdrawn, had not shaped; he had saved himself. Is rescue shaping? Or is it escape? And how long can escape count as shaping?
“Sixthly: health care,” said Dr. AuDHS. “Already early on: medicinal plants, avoidance of poisonous things, passing on knowledge. Health was always a project – never a coincidence.”
The word “project” sounded modern, but it meant something old: the attempt not to die.
“Up to this point,” said Dr. AuDHS, “the message is clear: we are made for movement, relationship, regeneration, problem-solving, prevention.”
