#12 - A Paradox for the Ages

Hi, this is Theo with your Heroic wisdom for the week. 

I have been meaning to write on the idea of aging for a while now. I have pushed it to the back of my mind. I recently had a birthday, and it popped back into my mind. 

Here’s the background…

I was jogging down the boardwalk in Atlantic City before my son Bryce was out of bed. His soccer team qualified for Nationals, so we were there for a few days.

Anyway, I was jogging along and I saw a gentleman slowly walking towards me with a cane. As I got closer, he stopped, turned towards me and blurted out, “Never get old!”

Me being me…I just smiled as I jogged by. Then the wheels started turning.

Was he telling me? Or was he telling himself? He didn’t look that old. 

After reflecting on it for the rest of my jog, I came to the conclusion that it is another one of those paradoxes of life. 

The one where as you get old you stop moving, but if you keep moving then you won’t get old.  

Believe it or not…I hear “I’m getting too old” from high school students all of the time. My classroom is at the top of a stairwell, and I hear students huffing and puffing…😬

The important thing is that we need to move. 

As Katy Bowman writes in Move Your DNA , humans are designed to move. Katy also makes it clear that “exercise is movement, but movement is not always exercise.”

Which brings to mind the idea from Michelle Segar in No Sweat, look for “opportunities to move” aka…OTMs. Taking out the trash, walking to the store, cleaning the house, playing with the kids are all OTMs. Just do it mindfully. 

The question is…how can you move more today and tomorrow and the next day and keep old age at bay?

That’s all for this week.

Talk soon!