Sunday, October 22, 2006

Predicting The Future

In my old age (numerically) I have learned that life doesn't have to be a crap shoot. As a young man I often felt that many events in my life were out of my control. I didn't care to have a plan or a purpose regarding my future, or even my present for that matter. I sort of plodded along, living day to day, hoping that everything would turn out okay. It was a wishful thinking hand to mouth existence. I was young and pretending to be ambitious, so why did I need some kind of confining structure that would bog down my free wheeling lifestyle. Who was I kidding? I think a lot of people in the USA live this way. Many of us survive on just 7 basic things. Food, shelter, work, money, buying toys, avoiding pain and seeking pleasure. It comes down to working to get the cash to feed your face and live in your house/condo/apt, so you can buy the stuff that gives you pleasure thus avoiding pain.

It's called The American Dream. It's our life. Is it enough? People from other countries come here to find this life. Other cultures believe it's disastrous. Some folks in this country never experience it. Many in our country see it as a trap. Are we spinning our wheels in the pursuit of the American dream? When these 7 things become the only 7 things in your life then life can be loaded with lots of surprises. I'm not talking birthday surprises either. As we age beyond our mid twenties our bodies and minds stop growing and start dying. Walt Whitman wrote, "The fruit of youth is forever gone at twenty six." Time passes and life gets harder. Aging brings stress, poor sleep, physical limitations and too many meds to combat it all. Kids have it easy. Their minds and bodies are brand new and capable of anything. Adults are the ones who deal with the day to day hardships of life.

The adult world is filled with unpredictable's. Traffic, family, work, finances, relationships, illness, fatigue and the list goes on. It feels like we can't control any of it. This is because we can't. We do our best but much of the time we suffer from the weight of it all. Life will always come at you, and finding the energy and enthusiasm to succeed comes form the two things that are predictable. They are Fitness & Food. An aging unfit, unhealthy junk food junkie is fighting an uphill battle every day. The clock is ticking, time is passing and the mind and body of the unfit and unhealthy suffer and fall prey to a dreaded future. Short term pleasures will mask reality for awhile but the last 10 to 30 years of life will be filled with pain and frustration. There's no getting around it unless you decide to eat better and move your body.

The two things that you can control, (Food & Fitness) are all you need to help you deal with all the other things you can't control. Healthy food and supplementation combined with a regular exercise program stimulates new cell growth, oxygenates the heart, lungs and brain, protects and strengthens bones, muscles, skin and connective tissue and provides the energy and enthusiasm of a child. A body in motion stays in motion. A body at rest will rot away. You are what you eat and healthy food and good supplements make for a healthy mind and body. Unhealthy junk food makes for food pornographers. If you do nothing the future is bleak. If you decide to commit to a plan that gives you purpose then you can predict the future.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

this is an audio post - click to play

Monday, October 02, 2006

The Power of Choice

How will you choose today?

Will it be...

WAR OR PEACE
HATE OR UNDERSTANDING
LIES OR TRUTH
CONFUSION OR CLARITY
RIDICULE OR PATIENCE
IRREVERENCE OR DEVOTION
ENVY OR GRATITUDE
SELF-PITY OR SELF-RELIANCE
INSANITY OR AWAKENING
TAKING OR GIVING
THE FIX OR THE WORK
MANIPULATION OR VULNERABILITY
ISOLATION OR COMMUNITY
COMPLANING OR LISTENING
JUDGEMENT OR ACCEPTANCE
ANGER OR WISDOM
VIOLENCE OR CIVILITY
SELFISHNESS OR SELFLESSNESS
JEALOUSY OR CONTENTMENT
NEED OR HAVE
IGNORE OR EXPLORE
LETHARGY OR ENERGY
REGRET OR ACTION
SELF-DOUBT OR SELF APPROVAL
SORROW OR HOPE
DESPAIR OR SERENITY
GUILT OR GROWTH
DRUG & ALCOHOL OR POWER & COURAGE
BLAME OR FORGIVENESS
WANT OR SHARE
SADDNESS OR JOY
DARKNESS OR LIGHT
EMPTINESS OR SOULFULNESS
ARROGANCE OR EMPATHY
IMPATIENCE OR DISCIPLINE
LAZINESS OR PERSVERENCE
TEMPTATION OR CONSCIOUSNESS
FEAR OR LOVE

You choose your emotions and reactions to everything going on around you. Some days will be easier than others, but at any given moment you get to choose how to effect your life and all the people in your life. How will you choose?