My technique go X speed on high waves and jet skis

We each have one life. Perhaps we continue in some form once that life is over, but that is a topic of another day.

I wrote this almost-poem on one of my last flights before the pandemic travel restrictions set in. As we spin indoors moving from screen to screen, take a second to remember that the seasons we’re given will go quickly.

It was also a reminder to me that airplane rides have been a forced chance for quiet reflection that I took for granted with more travel than I appreciated at the end of last year and beginning of this year. What’s something you realize you’ve taken for granted in these times? Make a plan to bring if back into your life.

For this life we are given, we have, on average 79 summers. Summer is the chance to dip your feet in the water, feeling it swirl between your toes and exhale after a time spent learning. Wouldn't it be nice to float in that same water. To swim? To feel the countless collection of water droplets trace the skin whose purpose is to carry you from place to place and idea to idea? Wouldn't it be nice to rise out of the water with confidence that the water dripping from you is not encumbered by a shirt worn to hide whatever amount of unease we have been taught to be shamed of? To have the confidence that our body is functioning in the way it was meant to - standing tall, shoulders back, capturing the energy-giving rays of the sun. To put your body in a state where each bite you take is energy to fuel your body, without having flavors be poisoned by chemicals designed to trick you into eating more? It would be so magnificent to only need to drink the water that is all around us on a daily basis and explore a few sips of simple variations fermented from plants and fruits for a special occasion.

79 autumns. These are the chances where the respite from learning comes to a close, and we endeavor once again to go to school or, send our kids and grand kids on their own exploration of discovering the world. Fall is a time to celebrate the harvests we have planted with our loved ones or those who do not have loved ones of their own. Wouldn't it be nice to approach holiday seasons with clothes fitting the same way they did the year before and only choosing to buy a new wardrobe if that is what brings us pleasure? Wouldn't it be a welcome reset to prepare foods for others in times of celebration no different than the ones made on a daily basis and which will not require an additional dose of medication to wash it down? To celebrate just enough for enjoyment and not excess, to save our money in transit by fasting and reflecting rather than our having food which decreases our enjoyment of the next day?

79 winters. And yet, we still need time to slow down and spend by the fire. Having the clear eyesight to behold the dancing flames of the warmth-providing fire in front of us. Eyesight that has not decreased with preventable degradation caused by incessantly staring at screens close to our face or far away. It would be so much better to be thankful for glasses and contacts if needed but refrain from losing eyesight prematurely because of too much sugar ingested throughout life. It would be even more pleasurable to have learned how to control our breathing to the point where we are in control of how our body reacts to the sense-awakening cold around us. It would be so incredible to use the cold of winter to our advantage to heal our inflamed muscles and crystallize our wandering thoughts.

79 springs. And yet, there still needs to be time to recommit, to be reborn, to be rejuvenated by a season of increasing warmth and decreasing darkness. It would be so life-affirming to enjoy the re-invigoration of nature by exploring it on a hike, run, paddle or outdoor safari. To look around with pets by our side who have a chance to move as they were intended along with their owners. It would be so enticing to inhale the forest, mountain or ocean air without the worry of allergies induced by the foods we eat or the environments we force ourselves to reside in.

We have 79 (give or take) chances at this opportunity we call life. Fitness is not the focus of all of them, but it gets us capable to experience each of them more fully. Find the balance between confidence and enjoyment, possibility and practicality. You will love a little longer and live a little more completely. And that's what fitness provides to you - a chance to reset for your next few seasons and begin to experience your time as you intended to all along.

Find some adventure. You won’t regret it.