Notes from Steve

I was talking to a friend recently about self-care.  She’s my age, and we were moaning about getting older.  Aging isn’t kind at all ... however, if you take care of yourself (eat right, sleep well, exercise, meditate, win the lottery), you will have a better journey – but even though it’s nice to plan, it isn’t always possible.  She was having major foot and joint pain, and she said that probably was because she was wearing high-heeled shoes and walking miles the other day.  Really? Sometimes, I don’t get my exercise in, or my sleep is interrupted because of what I ate at 8:30PM.  Sometimes, my meditation is a good opportunity to nap.  Alas, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

I’m reading this book right now about the 1700s and wooden ships (called The Wager – it’s better than it sounds).  The book talks about the situation on the ships and basically how everyone got scurvy and died horrible deaths.  And they starved and generally, it was horrible.  Why (I kept thinking) would anyone do this on purpose?  Maybe … fun?  (I doubt it – it didn’t sound fun.)  Probably adventure – anyway – besides death and starvation, these sailors had to pay attention all the time.  Awareness was key to survival (even though most of them died). Storms, pirates, waves, and navigation all required focused attention.

Getting old is like a ship in the 1700s.  The older it gets – the creakier and more unstable it becomes. It requires constant focus and attention.  There was purpose in the ships – transport, shipping, exploring, and it was necessary for countries if they wanted to grow.  Aging is going to happen.  Like with the ships – awareness and constant monitoring to make sure everything is in tip-top shape is necessary to survive, at least without injury.  

No one signs up willingly to age.  But those who are successful are the ones who embrace it as necessary to continue to live life, grow, and evolve.