Growing old content
Twenty years ago I encountered what is
called a mid-life crisis. This was something I was totally unprepared for.
Never had I read or heard of such a thing. The truth of my situation finally
became apparent as Diana and I sat across the desk from a neurosurgeon in Kansas
City. We could not believe his report. After having numerous high-cost tests
and scans at St. Lukes's Hospital we were prepared for bad news. The report was
not what we had expected.
From his first words he made it clear that there wasn't anything physically wrong with me. What about all the excruciating pain which I was experiencing? He said that wasn't attributable to anything physical. So we wondered where that left us.
I remember getting up the next morning and getting ready for school. Diana ask if I was really going to go, shouldn't I stay home and rest that day? I replied, 'what choice do I have? The doctor told us yesterday that there isn't anything physically wrong with me."
Back at work I was told another teacher with whom I worked was in the hospital. His back pain had become so intense that he had had to be admitted for observation and tests. This sounded familiar to me. In a few days I was leaving my classroom and walking to my car when the other teacher and his wife drove up. He was on his way home from the hospital. I ask him what they had found? "Nothing, they say it isn't physical." That also sounded familiar to me.
I put on my thinking cap still not knowing of the male phenomenon call mid-life crisis. I decided that i had to do something to help myself. I began walking a short distance each morning. Although the pain was terrible I kept at it. Soon I found myself going farther and farther. Then i made a decision that has altered my entire life. I began to run.
I didn't mimic Forrest Gump! You recall that he just took off running one day and just kept running. When he reached the Pacific and ran into the ocean, he simply turned around and began running the other way, crisscrossing America. No, I wasn't that obsessed. But I did find that running changed my way of seeing the world around me
I've tried walking only. It just doesn't do it for me. I've tried biking only, that doesn't work, not for me. Only running brings me the clarity of mind I need for contentment.
To run and work, I had to get up at 5:00 a.m. on school days. I would be on the streets of El Dorado Springs by 5:30 a.m. and then back to the apartment by 6:30 a.m. Breakfast at 7:00 a.m. and in the car for the commute to Osceola at 7:30 a.m. Each day I ran six miles. This pattern continued for many years regardless of the weather.
One morning it was 15 degrees and I had on all my cold weather gear. As I came into the downtown business district i saw my reflection in a store window. I had icicles hanging from my mustache and beard. Some readers may recall Omar Sharif in the condition as Dr Zhivago. I couldn't resist awaking Diana so that she could see how humorous I looked.
Life has slowed me down and has shortened my distance considerably. A little over a year ago I ran into a small thing called arthritis. It stopped the running until earlier this summer when something clicked in my mind, and I said, no more of this. I recalled on two occasion running in 10K road races with men who were in their 90's. I asked myself a simple question. Was it possible that those men had reached that age without some physical challenges? I doubted it. I decided that I was letting a minot problem dictate what I needed to do.
I know that running is good for my heart. It is good for circulation. It is good for cleansing and filtering out toxins in my system. But I run for another reason. Running keeps my mind clear. It keeps it safe.
When I look into the mirror today I don't recognize the face reflected. And that body surely doesn't belong to me wither. However, i know that neither the appearance of the face nor the body is of importance. they are an "illusion" which often prevents us from seeing our true self. Recently I read a selection from a work entitled Cold Mountain.
It's good to grow old content.
Cold and heat change my appearance;
The pearl of my mind stays safe.
I embrace the beauty of age. There is a serenity about those who have grown old content with their life. Wherever they go they are surrounded by an aura of peace and contentment. Though the years have changed their physical appearance, the beauty of their mind rediates from their faces. When in their presence i know that the pearl of their mind is safe.
From his first words he made it clear that there wasn't anything physically wrong with me. What about all the excruciating pain which I was experiencing? He said that wasn't attributable to anything physical. So we wondered where that left us.
I remember getting up the next morning and getting ready for school. Diana ask if I was really going to go, shouldn't I stay home and rest that day? I replied, 'what choice do I have? The doctor told us yesterday that there isn't anything physically wrong with me."
Back at work I was told another teacher with whom I worked was in the hospital. His back pain had become so intense that he had had to be admitted for observation and tests. This sounded familiar to me. In a few days I was leaving my classroom and walking to my car when the other teacher and his wife drove up. He was on his way home from the hospital. I ask him what they had found? "Nothing, they say it isn't physical." That also sounded familiar to me.
I put on my thinking cap still not knowing of the male phenomenon call mid-life crisis. I decided that i had to do something to help myself. I began walking a short distance each morning. Although the pain was terrible I kept at it. Soon I found myself going farther and farther. Then i made a decision that has altered my entire life. I began to run.
I didn't mimic Forrest Gump! You recall that he just took off running one day and just kept running. When he reached the Pacific and ran into the ocean, he simply turned around and began running the other way, crisscrossing America. No, I wasn't that obsessed. But I did find that running changed my way of seeing the world around me
I've tried walking only. It just doesn't do it for me. I've tried biking only, that doesn't work, not for me. Only running brings me the clarity of mind I need for contentment.
To run and work, I had to get up at 5:00 a.m. on school days. I would be on the streets of El Dorado Springs by 5:30 a.m. and then back to the apartment by 6:30 a.m. Breakfast at 7:00 a.m. and in the car for the commute to Osceola at 7:30 a.m. Each day I ran six miles. This pattern continued for many years regardless of the weather.
One morning it was 15 degrees and I had on all my cold weather gear. As I came into the downtown business district i saw my reflection in a store window. I had icicles hanging from my mustache and beard. Some readers may recall Omar Sharif in the condition as Dr Zhivago. I couldn't resist awaking Diana so that she could see how humorous I looked.
Life has slowed me down and has shortened my distance considerably. A little over a year ago I ran into a small thing called arthritis. It stopped the running until earlier this summer when something clicked in my mind, and I said, no more of this. I recalled on two occasion running in 10K road races with men who were in their 90's. I asked myself a simple question. Was it possible that those men had reached that age without some physical challenges? I doubted it. I decided that I was letting a minot problem dictate what I needed to do.
I know that running is good for my heart. It is good for circulation. It is good for cleansing and filtering out toxins in my system. But I run for another reason. Running keeps my mind clear. It keeps it safe.
When I look into the mirror today I don't recognize the face reflected. And that body surely doesn't belong to me wither. However, i know that neither the appearance of the face nor the body is of importance. they are an "illusion" which often prevents us from seeing our true self. Recently I read a selection from a work entitled Cold Mountain.
It's good to grow old content.
Cold and heat change my appearance;
The pearl of my mind stays safe.
I embrace the beauty of age. There is a serenity about those who have grown old content with their life. Wherever they go they are surrounded by an aura of peace and contentment. Though the years have changed their physical appearance, the beauty of their mind rediates from their faces. When in their presence i know that the pearl of their mind is safe.
Posted: Mon - January 2, 2006 at 05:07 PM
Quick Links
Reflection
"Chance favors only the prepared mind." - Louis Pasteur
"Art arises from basic needs-a strong need to express and celebrate our everyday events.
In a museum most people spend less than twenty seconds looking at a work of art."
"Art arises from basic needs-a strong need to express and celebrate our everyday events.
In a museum most people spend less than twenty seconds looking at a work of art."
Calendar
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
blogs
Categories
Archives
XML/RSS Feed
Visitors
Statistics
Total entries in this blog:
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Jan 02, 2006 05:08 PM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Jan 02, 2006 05:08 PM