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!!