Day 22 – Weight Lifting

I had not idea lifting weights would feel so good. Last November my eldest son, Brian, encouraged me to join him in a sport I had never before tried. Albeit, growing up I did my fair share of throwing hay bails and sacks of grain around the family farm.

I remembered feeling very awkward and weak those first few weeks. My arms wobbled under the free weights. It felt like everyone was watching me. I lifted only 30-40% of the weight that Brian lifted, but I still pushed and pulled the weights to the right position only with intense effort. The days following that first week of lifting left my muscles stiff and sore.

Now, eight months later, I understand why he goes to the gym so faithfully. For one, he likes to look good and his finely tuned and muscular torso provides evidence. More importantly, though, is how good it feels to be in sturdier condition. I’ve regularly cycled now for over 10 years so my legs and glutes are in pretty good shape. After lifting for these months, I’ve noticed my cycling has improved as a result of a better-conditioned core and torso. I walk more confidentially and with better posture. I think our bodies were made to be active. Our legs give us mobility and our arms the ability to pick up and carry things. We bend in the middle so we can sit down, but I don’t believe that’s our most natural position. Walking suits our structure better. Our spine is more naturally curved. Our frame is sturdier. It’s harder to push over a person standing than it is if they are sitting in a chair. If people exercised more, they’d be healthier, happier and clearer minded.

Seedlings

Day 3 – breaking the barrier of three consecutive days of writing . . .

They’re dead. The sunflower seedlings planted on Sunday shriveled in Monday’s sun and died by Tuesday morning. I tried to revive them with a spray of cool water, but I was too late. Fortunately a few seeds remain in the package, and I can try again this afternoon.

Faithful care in the early days of any new life is necessary to minimize the effects of the environment and encourage growth. Just as babies need food, warmth and love at regular intervals, seedlings need a regular dose of water. I failed in that simple task to the young shoot’s demise.

It is much the same for me when I am incorporating a new discipline, writing for instance, into my daily routine. I must guard the time with care, not leave it until the last moment of wakefulness, and nourish the burgeoning instinct like a seedling in the hot sun. Otherwise like the tender sprout, the new discipline will wither and fade away.

365 Days of Writing for 31 Minutes

Day 1 – June 3, 2009

My mind and my feet spun along easily and automatically. The zone I was in surrounded me completely. I sensed time only in the periphery of movement and ideas. Ideas floated into thought like bubbles surfacing in seltzer. Two prevailed on the surface of my memory throughout the two-hour ride. The one demanded discipline and commitment. Would it last?

Yesterday a friend emailed a short article to me about committing a short time each day to work on a big project. I’ve had a long-term goal to do some writing, but not being a writer, I seem to put of “official” writing into some future time. The article quoted T.S. Elliot, “When forced to work within a strict framework the imagination is taxed to its upmost–-and will produce its richest ideas. Given total freedom the work is likely to sprawl.”

So, I’m setting a goal, a commitment to write for 31 minutes every day for one year, 365 days! I hope the discipline improves my writing and my life. I chose 31 minutes because it is small and arbitrary, just like the article suggests.