Life Choices

ZEN THOUGHT

Two paths diverged in the woods. And I, I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference. --Robert Frost

There was a time that I thought I wouldn't make past 40 years old. So I made life choices accordingly. That changed when I was about 26 or 28 years old. I began to see the path behind the hill, so to speak. That's when I decided to aim for longer life. I still don't want to live forever, but let's not cut it shorter unnecessarily.

..And miles to go before I sleep -- Robert Frost

If there's something that is guaranteed to make life shorter, that is couch potato life. After having a hard day, the last thing you want is some more hardship. So you plop down on the sofa, drink beer, and relax. But this isn't too good.

If there's something that makes life longer, that is adversity. I don't mean hardship like starving yourself as to lower your metabolic rate significantly, but enough to challenge the body.

You see, the body adapts to its environment. The harder the life, the finer the person. Or "a day without working, is a day without eating."

Weightlifting has been shown to increase bone density. But there are other indications that some kind of stimulation, such as vibration is also good. Fat that otherwise form in bone marrow is turned into bone, increasing the density. So maybe 15 minutes exercise before you sleep would be a good thing.

So back to the couch potato thing. The first thing you do when you hit the couch in front of the TV is relax. But maybe before you're completely relaxed, you should push it a little bit. Do some warm ups exercises, followed by some moderate ones. Therefore, you're telling the body to shape up, adversity is coming. Be stronger!

I'm sure that each day you do this, you'll get better. If instead of pushing it, you merely just relax, then you're telling your body that once you hit the couch, all is well, and you never improve.

God made our bodies the way they are, and we should take advantage of it, and maximize its potential, even at the cost of working out even when we don't want to. Don't over do it, of course. If you really feel down, then just do some light ones. But otherwise, push it a little and have a more fulfilling life than being a zombie couch potato.

Only God can make a tree. Poems are made by fools like me. --Robert Frost