It's easy to become rather sedentary.
Depending on one's position in life -
many are stuck behind a desk. Just
managing what's on it's top is quite
challenging. However controlling
what's spread beneath said surface
is even harder. My initial hope was
that escaping the corporate world
would benefit my health. However
slowly my life became consumed
with sitting in front of my computer.
Hence good intentions aside, I seem
to have gone from better to worse.
You know you're in trouble when a set of
stairs or a slight incline takes your breath
away. While I most certainly have never
been a jock - I've always been in fairly
decent physical condition. Over the last
several years I've not only expanded my
horizons but in addition - my waistline.
Hence much of my huffs and puffs can
be attributed to the fact I now have to
transport quite a few additional pounds
from here to there. Thus my challenge
is that I've got to get a move on before
I die dead in my tracks doing nothing!
Living in Manhattan one walks or runs
everywhere. It's usually the easiest way
to get from here to there. Mechanized
transport tends to be slower than mud
so one goes hither and yon by foot. You
walk to the office, grocer, or restaurant
every day. If one takes the subway, you
still have to walk there. Then trudge up
or down flights of stairs depending on
whether you're coming of going. Thus
the majority of Manhattanites exercise
daily whether they want to or not! Are
city slickers healthier than country folk?
Frank and I purposefully opt to live
in town rather than out on the vast
prairie that surrounds our town. In
theory we can walk everywhere yet
in practice, we (well... I) rarely do
just that. Driving about can easily
be justified given winters are rough
in these here parts. However now
that it's spring there's just no excuse
why we (I) can't walk to the grocer
or post office rather than drive. Not
only is such a jaunt better for me,
it's ecologically beneficial to all!
Therefore for the next few months I'm going
to walk anytime, anywhere. This afternoon
I discovered the niftiest app on my i-phone.
A little heart symbol has been ready to help
fulfill my heart's desire all along. Apparently
I'd activated it at some point sans any sense
of what it really was. You see, as long as I
carry my phone with me, said device will
record how many footsteps, flights of stairs,
and miles I travel on foot - monitoring my
every exertion. And knowing me - I'm sure
to be consumed with that data for months!
The question is will I do anything with it?!
However one monitors their motion -
what's most important is that we move
in the right direction. Given I've been
feeling like crap lately, it's better to
be strolling than rolling somewhere
in a wheelchair. I'm not certain where
I lost my self respect - but any passing
view in a mirror confirms that it's time
to step up my game. And so, if you're
driving around town you just may see
me in the crosswalk. When's the last
time you strutted your stuff? Let's
walk off into the sunset together!