There are parts of the mind that literally turn-off if they are not being actively used. They may even altogether disappear. It’s not enough to live with what one has already collected and simply coast through life on autopilot. There are consequences to this that a man will not realise until it is too late or simply too difficult to remedy. If the mind is not constantly exploring new ideas and trying to feel the emotional gravity of what they entail, a man’s entire energetic signature diminishes to the level of a marionette. The world however doesn’t require men to constantly press themselves with psychological challenges that keep them afloat amidst the pressures of survival. It appears to be a luxury available only to those who recognise the situation for what it is and despite their circumstances, privileged or not, strive to feed themselves with better mental and emotional food than is required for mere subsistence. Yet if a man does not struggle in this way, trying to think beyond his current capacities and understand himself and the world more in the evening than he does in the morning, he will find that a gradual degradation takes place. Old age is most often an illustration of this inevitable stagnation of all higher faculties, resulting in a daily experience based entirely on mechanical habits and deprived of all novelty.