I did it again. I’m ashamed to admit I did it again.
I visited the National Gallery of Art, and was desperate to quench my thirst. I went and bought a can of purified water and after drinking half the can I looked at the label and saw that it contained electrolytes for taste. A Google search revealed that it is calorie-free and does not contain any fat, carbohydrates, or sugar. The electrolytes added are potassium bicarbonate, calcium carbonate, calcium chloride, and magnesium chloride. I then looked at what’s inside the Primo Brands “Pure Life” water bottles served in my hotel and found that each bottle contains “less than 0.5% of calcium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, magnesium sulfate.”
While fasting, some people still consume vitamins and minerals so they can better function when going without food, but I view this as going against the spirit of the practice. My understanding is that we eat food to gain nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. If I’m abstaining and still pop a multivitamin everyday the whole deed rings just a bit hollow. Oh well.
I can’t go back and change the past, so I will continue on with my hunger strike accepting the fact that I will drink water with additives in it throughout its duration. The thing about going without food is that it warps your thinking abilities and sense of judgement, making it more difficult to stay on a hunger strike. Before my trip to DC I don’t think I ever went a single day without food. I’m terrified that I’ll see some free samples and have a bite without even thinking because I’m just so used to eating whenever I please. I had a dream that I ordered an Oreo cheeseburger and woke up in a panic thinking I was about to end my hunger streak.
I don’t have too much to say about my art gallery visit, but viewing paintings that were hundreds of years old made me realize that the artists made a lasting impact on the world through their art. If an artwork depicts an actual person, then the person who was depicted is now forever remembered, appreciated, and studied due to being made into art. I’ll speak more on the importance of art in my life at a later time.
I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to go on, if I’m struggling this much on day four I wonder what day ten, twenty, and fifty will look like. Will I be able to speak coherently at those points should an important politician choose to speak with me? I think that the lack of nutrients would cause my teeth to fall out at some point.
All I know for sure is that I refuse to give up.