Good intentions are more likely to be met with disappointment than are no intentions. Determined, however, a few years ago I embarked on a fitness journey that has found me spinning my wheels rather than propelling me ahead. Warning to young people: aging is full of surprises.
A few weeks ago, I intended to rename this blog Fit Enough for My Life but got stuck in the technology. Fitness for life is subjective. When I was working and assessing patients for speech therapy, one of the key elements of developing a treatment plan was the patient’s lifestyle. The plan and expectations for a patient who spent most of their time watching television prior to a stroke was very different from that for someone who was still employed with a robust social life. What I consider my normal fitness level would be frustrating to a lifelong athlete and equally to a couch potato and is currently frustrating to me as I morph into a potato.
The reality is that older bodies don’t heal as quickly as young ones probably due to mysterious cellular and molecular processes. But my mind wants to deny that. I want to heal as I did when I was 30 or even 60. Rather than exercising my body, as I had planned, I find myself exercising patience. Rather than developing fitness for my life, my life is adjusting to my fitness level. Rather than envisioning adventures to come, I envision status quo and dream of walking without discomfort.
Are the world crises affecting my mood? I think so. They are also affecting my dreams and the dreams of many others. I want to be fit enough for my life, but I want life to be more than resisting aging.
