Breathe in breathe out

I have always taken long walks even from childhood. Now that I am older I make sure to walk at least 2 miles outside of my home each day. During the past decade I’ve found an interesting way to keep myself motivated to keep moving. I take note of people in my day to day journey and realize how blessed I am. One day I saw an acquaintance who had gained a lot of weight and was riding in the motorized cart through the grocery store and using oxygen. Not long after this she passed away. As soon as I got the news of her death. I went for a mile walk through my neighborhood. On another occasion I went walking at midnight after having attended a funeral earlier in the day of someone younger than myself.

I was thankful to be living and have the activity of my limbs. When I encounter people I know who have gained excessive weight, are using oxygen, in wheelchairs, walkers or are on oxygen, I realize it could just as easily be me. This motivates me to get in at least an extra 20 minutes during the day by walking, jogging or dancing. This is my trigger and it works very well. I also count my steps and make sure to get in at least 10,000 a day which equals 5 miles. Keeping up with how much I walk each day is a big incentive to continue moving. Seeing people whose health does not allow them to make choices reminds me that I still can. I understand that not everyone is in their current situation because of bad health habits.

Accidents, side effects to medication, war injuries, heredity, and other factors can lead to weight gain. the need for oxygen, and or not being ambulatory. Even so studies have shown that being a couch potato is not healthy and a sedentary life can result in weight gain and health issues. My great grandmother and my grandma both had congestive heart failure. Both were overweight and large breasted with D cups. Both had been smokers in early life and I’m not a smoker. I don’t know what role weight played in their situations but I don’t want to end up using oxygen and struggling to breath. Each time the scales indicate that I’ve gained a few pounds, I walk or jog an extra mile a day along with changing my diet until I drop the pounds.

I recall an episode of the 5th season of the NBC sitcom A Diffetent World. Colonel Taylor (Glynn Truman) has just returned from the funeral of a colleague who died suddenly from a heart attack. He wanted to make love to his wife in the middle of the day during her lunch break. He told her there was something about death that made him want to feel alive. For me, it’s seeing what has happened to others and my desire to prevent the same fate for myself if at all possible. Another motivating factor is the actor Eric Braeden who portrays Victor Newman on The CBS daytime drama The Young and the Restless. Braeden is 79 and since the coronavirus he has shared photos where he has been exercising, climbing long flights of stairs and basically found ways to keep moving while not working. His drive and determination paid off because he was allowed to be one of the first actors back on the set.

Braeden’ motto is that when you stop you die, so I glean inspiration wherever I can to keep moving. All around me people are having heart attacks and strokes, experiencing visions on loss and having limbs amputated because of diabetes. I think of actress Kelly Preston who was beautiful, rich and talented yet recently lost her battle with breast cancer. When anxiety tried to take hold I shifted my focus to model Carmen Del Orafice who is still going strong at 85. I breathed in slowly through my nose then out slowly through my mouth. My mantra is “breathe in, breath out then walk, run, or jog and extra mile in memory of or in honor for someone to prove I’m alive and I can.

To put it all into perspective, I am encouraged to get in an extra mile when I see older people who remain fit. I am motivated to walk, jog, or run, when death or someone’s weight or health affects me. These have worked well as my personal triggers and keep me on my toes. I recently received lab work back from the doctor and everything that was checked was within normal acceptable ranges. This is another trigger for me to walk and keep things in order in my body. Over the years I’ve heard people say they were going to walk off an extra piece of cake they ate. I desire to be fit and healthy and not even have the urge to eat that extra piece of cake. And on that note, Injust motivated myself to get in one more mile before bedtime.