Jul 2013

Life Is A Gift

It seems like yesterday when I was a small boy playing each summer on the beach in NJ. Today, as I near 60 years of age, it is extremely unbelievable to me, I have spent nearly 6 decades on this earth. Based on the social security office's average lifespan of a male in the US today, 71% of my life is basically over. Accordingly to these statistics, by the time I reach 84 years of age, I have better chance of the after life than my earthly life. The thought of that fact takes my breath away. As we get older, I think we all realize how much our life is truly a gift. For many of us that realization comes after years of physical, social, and mental neglect. Many of us eat and drink too much. We allow personal, relationship, or work stress to take our peace much more often than we should. And, when it comes to eating well, we tell ourselves tomorrow we will starting eating as we should.

Then, after many years of forgetting life is a gift, we realize we have high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, heart disease and many other lifestyle related diseases. Depending on how serious the situation is, the more likely we are to realize that life is a gift and we shouldn't waste time sitting on the couch watching TV and drinking too many beers. The other day I helped a neighbor learn how to ride her bike in way that she would enjoy but still get a pretty good workout when needed. She was so excited it seemed to understand that exercise can be both fun and good for your help. I was so proud of her that she took charge of her health. More importantly, I could see it in her eyes, she realized that exercising on her bike was a gift that give her a chance at a better and healthier life!