THE STATE OF THE HUMAN
JULY 2026 - 6 MIN READ - MIKE FROM NORTHSIDE MOVEMENT
Every now and again, we turn the World Cup off and whip out a book to keep the noggin fuelled with useful stuff. Our most recent one has got us thinking.
I've just started reading I Eat The Stars by Sarah Wilson and in the first 29 pages, she basically says that after some deep investigating into the state of civilisation — she has given up hope.
Hope that the world won't keep burning hotter. Hope that people will stay united. Hope that the place humans share will heal.
And in the realisation of what could be considered a gloomy outlook, she was surprised to feel relief.
No longer did she need to push things to the back compartments of her mind and pretend things were getting better. After distorting her reality for years, she could finally see things as they are.
It's the kind of book you desperately want to keep reading whilst simultaneously wanting to burn — and go back to pretending things are different.
Why share this?
Because every time someone starts here at Northside, we get the opportunity to unpack story upon story of how the loss of physicality — a body that no longer functions well — has stolen someone's vibrancy. Changed their outlook, their sense of self, their state.
The reason they came in? A crossroads moment.
A moment where the low volume whispers that were trying to tell them their body was fading eventually turned into loud, clear statements. No ambiguity. Just enough physical and mental discomfort to drive them to take action.
And it's no wonder it took a while to hear the calls.
Netflix openly states that its main competitor is sleep.
Instagram wants to steal as many minutes of your attention as it can.
Ubereats wants you to think that planning, buying and cooking food is a tedious task.
Continue down this path without resistance and we'll find malnourished zombies — not from a lack of food access or a dirty bite from a creature that belongs in a horror film.
And then there's the training thing.
Literally the most scientifically and common-sense proven method to helping your body change the state of the stuff inside of you. The stuff you can't see but express in the way you navigate the external world.
The cardiovascular system that determines how much energy you have to show up for the people and things that matter. The muscular system that determines whether your body is resilient or fragile. The mind that guides it all.
Every year from 30, without intervention, you are going physically backwards.
Bad for the ego to lose some muscle in your 20s.
Degrading to your quality of life to lose it in your 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond.
So, here’s the reality check you may have needed.
And now it’s time for you to do something about it.
