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Friday, December 7, 2018

Sometimes, just BE! pqtd podcast


Now, I’m not trying purposely to be vague here.  Actually, this is a quite specific recommendation- often, we need to be reminded that we do not need to be struggling wildly, spinning our wheels attempting to make the greatest gains, the best accomplishments of our lives, because; well- time is all we’ve got!

Last week I was reminded of this, as I got quite sick, and stayed that way for a solid week!  

Now, this is a rarity for me.  Probably for your too, if you make your health a real priority in your life, trying to always get at least 8 hours of sleep, eat a paleo diet, and exercise intensely, yet briefly, on a regular basis.  I fact, right now I can’t recall the last time I got sick!  It really is usually less than one time per year, and then only for a day or two…

Except this time.  I know what it stemmed from, as I was forced to be outside in freezing rain and cold for hours, at night (I rarely stay up late at night), and was coupled with extreme exertion!  I remember thinking ‘If I am exposed right now to something bad (I was in a large crowd as well), I know I am driving those toxins right deep into my body.’   

And that is exactly what happened!  I got so ill that all I could do was lay in my chair, covered with a sleeping bag and with an electric heater aimed at my prone form, as I just lay there- day after day.  I tried to sleep in my bed, but aside wanting to spare exposing my wife to my toxic self- there was to be no sleep for me!  I coughed and sneezed too much, and constantly needed to be blowing my nose, over and over…  

What a nightmare.  

And you know what?  As I lay there, did I think about all the things I wanted and needed to do, the workouts I was missing, the podcasts, the music and book writing I wasn’t doing, and all the thousand and one things we all do that make a tapestry of our lives?  

No.  I lay there, struggling for breath and the recovery of my usual extreme wellness, yet thinking in the back of my mind that maybe- just maybe- my life was actually usually too busy.  Even though everything I do is pretty much what I want and love to do- at the end of the day, what really, really counts in making us what we are, our true selves?  

It’s not just our accomplishments, although those are important.  But what is far more important are all the times that you are just there- in the moment- experiencing your life, and the lives of your tribe all about you, and savoring and appreciating that, in and of itself!

Not the accolades you do or might receive, not the money you may make because of your hard work; I mean, all of that is nice, and even necessary in some ways- but at last, who really cares?  If you are ‘running and striving’ so hard in your life that you hardly notice what day it is, or where you are and what you are experiencing- you are missing out on your own life.

I won’t say I am glad I got sick, far from it.  But, as I sat there in that chair, I realized what it was to live in the moment.  Entirely, and painful as it was- I was right there.  There was no way to escape it.

And that’s when I realized that if only I could live the wonderful, vibrant, full-of-joyous sensations moments of my life, as I walk through the forest with my ski poles in the snow, or hit a perfect harmony with my singing partner, or when I’ve grilled a perfect steak- why, then I would be truly BEING, living in the NOW, and in a wonderful time that would in some way live inside me then forever!

That is the me that I want, living forever!