I love to exercise! I just have trouble getting started. Anyone else have that problem? It's one of those things I do in fits and starts. Sometimes the fit lasts a day, sometimes a couple of years. I know I love it because I always feel like a totally different person when exercise is a part of my "regular routine".
But me and regular routines have all kinds of issues. I've always been way too much of a seat-of-the-pants kind of person, too often living in the creative zone in my soul instead of being the practical-down-to-earth-do-what-you're-supposed-to-do-and-shut-up person I was raised to be. At any rate, that was not the point of this blog.
I have been struggling with the "where" of getting back into exercise. My butt is glued to the chair way too much as my work day consists of sitting at the computer for hours at a time. For months now I've been thinking about joining a health club, but even imagining what it would be like to drag myself there every afternoon takes too much time and effort. Then i consider walking in my neighborhood. Too hilly ...and boring. Walking in the park. Rapists. Walking the dog. He chokes himself to death and pulls my arm out of its socket. Round and round the process goes in my head doing nothing to get me out of my chair.
WELL! A couple of weeks ago I was in our back yard with my son's puppy (that I spend way too much time with) trying to get him to burn off some of his excess puppy energy, so I can get some work done. I began to walk the perimeter of my back yard as he gleefully leaped and jumped and followed me around and around and around. I breathed in the fresh air, enjoying the movement, amazed that I could still walk. I studied my gardens as I passed each one, energized by the activity, the fresh air and the joy of my puppy.
That afternoon we did it again. And the next day and the next...and I'm feeling better and better and he's a much more relaxed puppy. We both have begun to look forward to our romps. He already reminds me if I forget.
And it's so easy! I step through the back door and I'm off! No wasted time no hills, no rapists, no leash to hang on to. It's not a bit boring either. The puppy is very entertaining and since I planted almost every tree, shrub and flower that lives and grows in my back yard (going on 15 years) I enjoy checking up on them and seeing what they're up to. They're like my children, I never tire of watching them grow.
It's perfect for me...and the puppy. I'm not sure how I'll feel when a clear path has been worn around the yard but I'll worry about that when the time comes. Perhaps I'll landscape it into the terrain. In the meantime the puppy and I are happy and healthy(ier).We've found our solution.
When we're trying to solve a problem, finding a solution is often about timing, or gathering the right information or taking time to reflect. But sometimes it's about stumbling upon an accidental solution. I'm always surprised when I discover a solution to a problem that was something completely outside my own thought processes. When accidental solutions do occur, they are invariably more perfect solutions than any I could ever have conjured.
Accidental solutions make me believe in a higher power - a positive force in the universe that is there all the time willing and ready to help us out...when we let it. I'm not sure accidental solutions are really accidental at all only unexpected.
And, unexpected solutions give me hope.
But me and regular routines have all kinds of issues. I've always been way too much of a seat-of-the-pants kind of person, too often living in the creative zone in my soul instead of being the practical-down-to-earth-do-what-you're-supposed-to-do-and-shut-up person I was raised to be. At any rate, that was not the point of this blog.
I have been struggling with the "where" of getting back into exercise. My butt is glued to the chair way too much as my work day consists of sitting at the computer for hours at a time. For months now I've been thinking about joining a health club, but even imagining what it would be like to drag myself there every afternoon takes too much time and effort. Then i consider walking in my neighborhood. Too hilly ...and boring. Walking in the park. Rapists. Walking the dog. He chokes himself to death and pulls my arm out of its socket. Round and round the process goes in my head doing nothing to get me out of my chair.
WELL! A couple of weeks ago I was in our back yard with my son's puppy (that I spend way too much time with) trying to get him to burn off some of his excess puppy energy, so I can get some work done. I began to walk the perimeter of my back yard as he gleefully leaped and jumped and followed me around and around and around. I breathed in the fresh air, enjoying the movement, amazed that I could still walk. I studied my gardens as I passed each one, energized by the activity, the fresh air and the joy of my puppy.
That afternoon we did it again. And the next day and the next...and I'm feeling better and better and he's a much more relaxed puppy. We both have begun to look forward to our romps. He already reminds me if I forget.
And it's so easy! I step through the back door and I'm off! No wasted time no hills, no rapists, no leash to hang on to. It's not a bit boring either. The puppy is very entertaining and since I planted almost every tree, shrub and flower that lives and grows in my back yard (going on 15 years) I enjoy checking up on them and seeing what they're up to. They're like my children, I never tire of watching them grow.
It's perfect for me...and the puppy. I'm not sure how I'll feel when a clear path has been worn around the yard but I'll worry about that when the time comes. Perhaps I'll landscape it into the terrain. In the meantime the puppy and I are happy and healthy(ier).We've found our solution.
When we're trying to solve a problem, finding a solution is often about timing, or gathering the right information or taking time to reflect. But sometimes it's about stumbling upon an accidental solution. I'm always surprised when I discover a solution to a problem that was something completely outside my own thought processes. When accidental solutions do occur, they are invariably more perfect solutions than any I could ever have conjured.
Accidental solutions make me believe in a higher power - a positive force in the universe that is there all the time willing and ready to help us out...when we let it. I'm not sure accidental solutions are really accidental at all only unexpected.
And, unexpected solutions give me hope.
2 comments:
Looks like He put the perfect solution right there at hand....for me it's the 16 step ladder up to the boat..and I make that trip a minimum of 6 times a day...
www.alwayslingerawhile.blogspot.com
Great unexpected solution to inspire physical activity. For me, I make extra trips up and down our stairs to carry even one or two small items that could wait. This is my idea of a stair stepper. But the idea of the yard and fresh air combined with the energy of a puppy sounds delightful. Enjoyed reading this blog!
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