I am thankful again to write for this paper. It’s been my habit to see nature working in our lives and to apply natural principles to daily living. A series of future columns will be devoted to physical health.
After several weeks of the Aloha State games, you might get inspired to take up a sport and compete. It’s quite apparent that some people take easily to sports or exercise, but others have a much harder time.
For those who have trouble getting themselves to exercise, it is important to remember the definition of sport — something that is a source of pleasant diversion.
Who would want to exercise if they aren’t having fun? The thought of exercise sounds grueling by itself. Why run around the park if not for some greater purpose or pure joy? It’s nice to approach exercise with the spirit of a child and to try to remember what it was like to just enjoy yourself. You’re never too old for this — unless you say so.
The excuses for why we don’t do anything, including exercise, are usually the same. Either we don’t have enough time. Or, we are just not so good at it, so we don’t want to participate. Or no one will help. Or we’re just too old. Any excuse will do.
In the long run, we have to face our responsibility in the matter. Whether we like it or not, no one else is going to care for our body. Doctors are not so much in business to promote our health as they are to reduce our illness. It is unfortunate that the way many of us end up facing our responsibility to our bodies is only after we have become very sick. Despite this, let us hope our sickness will not be irreversible and hope we still have time to embrace a healthy lifestyle to regain our health.
Being responsible for our health is sometimes not easy to accept. When our health is poor, we don’t want to think that we had anything to do with it. It was just our bad luck, bad genes, or the bug that was going around. No one is out to assign blame; instead, being responsible for our health simply leads to a better result for us. If no one will make us healthier, then we have been chosen for that task.
Many of us give so much time to other things: our careers, our loved ones, our garden, our home. Our bodies need some time also. Even if we were to just sit down and reflect on how our body feels, this gives it some attention. Many of us have spent our lifetimes in and with our bodies, yet still don’t know our bodies.
Be a sport; play a sport. Exercise or just be with your body. You are welcome to come to my free Taichi class at Kailua Beach Park every Saturday from 8-9 AM and give time to your body.