Tuesday, January 11, 2011

She Walked the Gobi

It is amazing how our attitude can dictate our view of life.

I was depressed because I've been having trouble with my knees, bone spurs, arthritis, stiff joints, modified gait...sad, sad, sad. Then I went to see an orthopedic surgeon who said that the solution to my problem was double knee replacement with three month recovery time...etc., etc., etc. When I asked the doctor if I could heal myself...he looked at me incredulously and said, "What do you mean?" as though this was an impossibility. Threw myself a full-on pity party complete with whatever one serves at a pity party. (will have to do reseach on a menu for a pity party)

The change in my perspective changed when I read a book by Helen Thayer entitled Walking the Gobi. I am not really into travel books but I just happened to see it in the library and borrowed it. The writer was 63 years old and she and her 70+ year old husband walked 1600 miles across the Gobi Desert with scorpions, 115+ degree weather, sandstorms, and sandy socks!! She had a hip injury before she embarked on the trip yet they averaged 26 miles every day for 80 days!!

My problems with my knees turned into whining about a mosquito bite!!

Of course, I understand that Helen Thayer and her husband are not the usual senior citizens. But what I admired was the her discipline in following through with a commitment. Missing an appointment at a predesignated checkpoint would mean...no water. I read the book in one night and drank a big glass of water in the morning.

This is what I needed and it was a noncoincidental coincidence that I found the book. If one has the can do attitude laced with hope, one can live a fuller life.
Amen, amen, amen!!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Be it resolved...

The first day of the new year is always filled with such hope and promise, especially when the weather is as beautiful as it is today. It is so easy to make grandiose promises to do a million things on such a day.

Yet, we have to restrain ourselves and keep to something that is do-able, achievable, conceivable, and realistic...right? Why can't our resolution be for a day? Perhaps it is because we entangle ourselves with too many far-reaching expectations to lose a gazillion pounds in 10 hours, or turn our lives around, or rehabilitate a sorry human being.

To be successful, we need to keep it simple. So let it be resolved that in 2011, I will UP wellness and DOWN stress. Let's see how this works out.

Best wishes to me to achieve this resolution. What would be the benchmarks for my achievement? Perhaps journal results will be the chronicle for the journey.