We recently went to Florida and had a great time as a family. We spent most of our time just being together. We played games, walked the beach, skipped stones, read books, had sibling spats, and ate lots of great food.
One of the things I am continually learning is that life is not about trying to achieve a mechanically perfect destination. It is, however, about continually growing and working at the things we were created for and finding some type of balance.
Life has all sorts of demands and forces pulling us in multiple directions. It’s easy to become a workaholic. It’s easy to slide into the trap of take-out, fast-food living. It’s easy to get caught on the merry-go-round of to-do list living. It’s easy to drop our fitness program and slip into survival mode.
We tend to exist in extremes – working super hard or vacationing, hitting all our workouts or none of them, eating organic and home made or grabbing take-out on the go – but the truth is we need to have grace and learn that life exists best in this tension of trying to create balance.
I learned on this latest vacation it is possible to write a blog post, play shark in the pool, read with your 7 year-old, eat organic guacamole with pastured eggs, have a great conversation with your spouse, and treat the family to frozen yoghurt with sugary toppings all in one day. It was awesome to live in a way not about perfection and existing in extremes but about nurturing the many aspects of life I’ve been created for.
This summer, I spoke with an 82 year-old patient who is still fully living life. He goes deep-sea fishing, swims several days a week, and is able to vacation and experience life at his leisure. He does all of this when most of the people in his cohort are either dead or living in nursing homes. He is a rarity. I asked him what he feels has lead to his blessed life. His answer was remarkably simple: nothing in extremes and choose happiness. “I eat decent, never to excess, and never too many desserts. I love to swim and exercise and do it about 4 times a week, and every day I reflect on all my blessings and the things that I am grateful for.”
Nothing to excess. He’s not an organic, vegan, tree-hugging nutrition fanatic. He’s not an ironman, marathon-running elite athlete. He is, however, grateful, happy, and well-rounded.
Life in balance is better than life at extremes. Look for how you can add joy, health, harmony, peace, and love to your life.
Today’s your day. Be Blessed,
Dr Matt
