We are closing in on the end of February which is a really nice thing for any of us who have worked our way through it. It isn't like I have struggled to any great degree with SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder. Now that might be due to the general commitment to an exercise program, or a habit of movement. It might just be a lucky break in the gene pool, or it might just be a darn determined effort to not let 'it', get to me. And what shall we name 'it'? The month of February, in Michigan, the cold, the snow, the ice, the wind, the gray skies that hang low in our sky mostly from November through March. "IT" has been a reason to keep moving, to encounter the weather, to take on the elements. Getting through the month of February may be no different from getting through any other month for many of you. Yet for some of us, it remains a challenge. And that challenge of successfully savoring each day, of this month, is an opportunity for us to stay strong.
I am not what I once was. That is to be expected. We all change, every moment of every day we grow up, we grow strong, we grow weak, we grow in wisdom, hopefully, and sometimes we get stupid. Then we grow older, but that is not to say that we grow old. This is about the effort we expend every day to live, it is not about the moments where we relax toward the end of our days. I am not the athlete I once was. And for the most part I am quite all right with that. I'm pretty sure that i ran all those marathons and River Bank Runs, because my Dear Wife and life partner was in love with the sport. She loved to run and it gave her life meaning for many years. Then the knees gave out, and it became important to find another way to move. Secretly, I kind of did a happy dance when she stopped running, as it selfishly also gave me a reason to let up. Yet we did not stop moving.
So last Sunday we hoped to experience a 'bomb cyclone', where the bottom drops out of the barometric pressure and anything can happen. So we went for a walk around the neighborhood. That isn't so unusual. We do it several days a week, rain or shine, cold or warm. We have walked the beach in the beauty of most every climactic condition. As we walked Sunday, we heard a creak, then a groan, then a good size limb fell off a tree, right across the street from us. We called 911 and our amazing city crews cleaned it up in a jiffy. The point is, you can't let a little weather get in your way. Just because there were gusts of 55 mph winds, and the snain was pelting our faces, we were getting our walk on!
There is no bad weather, just bad clothing. I remember many years ago, on two occasions when we were running. Once at the height of summer in 90 plus degree heat, and another time in February, when it was subzero and blowing, I moaned "why are we out here doing this?" We looked at each other and together said, "because we can". We all can do more to savor each day. We all can do more to experience the success of engaging the elements. In a few days, another February bites the dust. And we didn't just survive it, we thrived through it.
We choose to be Our better selves every day, one step at a time. BE WELL!