I've been thinking lately about the things I have learned from the people I have dated since I was divorced. The list is long, and I think it is probably inevitable that we learn things about life and ourselves from the people we come in contact with in our lives. Introspection is a tricky thing with me, though. If I spend too long on it, it's not helpful, but if I do it right, I get these little bursts of insight from time to time.
Last spring I met B online and we dated for a few months. B is very athletic, and I wanted to be more like that. It was a great summer for going camping again, and hiking more often. I rafted for the first time in decades, and mountain biked for the first time. The best part was that it started to occur to me that I might like to go hiking on my own. Well, with the dog, who LOVES to hike, especially if there's water. That was an important bit of it, that the thought came to me saying I might want to get up early and walk for a few hours to get out and enjoy the scenery, work my body, exercise my dog, etc.
On a related note, my brother and SIL include Spin classes in their exercise routine, and now I do the same. I can't say as I've HAD an exercise routine in a long time, maybe ever, but for some reason, maybe that Mr. W is easy to bring along, and the time of the class is right, I've done it for the last 6 weeks, and hope to keep doing it. I've even, as I mentioned the other day, gotten a third day of exercise in by going back to the gym.
Also, did you see the story on a study that suggested (although they don't know the mechanism) that a daily aspirin, started at around age 45, showed promise in preventing certain types of cancer? That's a little fuzzy, but enough for me to have bought a bottle of aspirin, and I now take one alongside my vitamin and fish oil capsules.
So what is my motivation here? I often feel like I'm being pursued by the same early death that claimed my mom and sister. Doing what I can to live a healthy life goes a long way in easing my mind that I gave it my best shot. But this exercise stuff, I must tell you, makes me feel good. Simple as that. When I am finished, I am composed, even-keeled, I just feel good. So far, that has been a big part of the motivation to make the time to exercise, I'm just a little bummed out that it took so long for me to realize it. I'm glad it wasn't too late for me to realize the benefits.
I think there truly are phases in life that we go through. (Not the GREAT BIG phases that books document, but rather smaller ones that are part of a person's life . . . if we let intelligent thought come through!) And it seems that you have to be at the right point for things to click. Like your exercising program. If you had forced yourself to do the same thing at another time, it probably wouldn't have worked . . . or felt as good as it now does. I guess what I'm trying to say is don't beat yourself up on not having gotten to this spot before. (I should have this very thing tattooed on my forehead.) The time just wasn't right until now. Now get out there and run 5 miles in your Sorels!
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