Sunday, October 28, 2007

OUR FUTURE IS IN OUR PAST

I live a vintage life. From the 100 year old farm house my wife and I live in, to my 45 year old Ford F100 green pick-up truck, the past is my day to day reality. Even the dog, Charlie, at fourteen and a half years, is nearly an antique! (Please note I spared my wife a similar comparison.) Seriously though, there's a lot of work and maintenance that goes into the upkeep of our farmhouse and various vehicles, including a JeepCJ5 and an old John Deere tractor. But it's satisfying work and it recaptures an era that should never have ended in the first place! Here in our valley in Wisconsin, we manage to hang on to that time when the pace was slower and life was simpler. At 55, I'm only a week away from my official retirement date as a mailman, but I plan to keep working for a few more years. Hey, I want my daughter to get the best education she can at the best college I can afford!

In a sense, I think of myself as already retired... but working! Let me explain:
No longer a union officer, no longer actively engaged in constructive change... I carry my route, greeting all my patrons who have become my friends as I've been on the same route for over 16 years. I'm also able to enjoy listening to my many podcasts as I walk my appointed rounds.

So now I find myself on the threshold of baby-boomer morphing into Senior citizen. It's inevitable: but not only am I ready for this change, I'm thankful for it as well. My plan and goal is to live a long, healthy, fulfilling and self-actualized life. To live up to my God given potential. Who wouldn't agree with that? But how to accomplish it is another matter!

I've got more than a few passions where health and fitness are concerned. I started out in my teens with long distance running- Ken Cooper's Aerobics book was a big influence for lots of us. Unfortunately, instead of preserving the nation's hearts and fitness, it mainly achieved the destruction of the nation's joints...

Anyway, I've progressed, never losing sight of my fitness goals over the long years. I've tried LOTS of things, and I plan to tell you what I've learned within my future blogs. I also plan to insert other things of interest I have gathered up over the years; things that hopefully will help you as well. My daily life, and that of those around me will also be a part of what you see here, and I'm sure my wife's photos will help brighten these pages.

I think you'll enjoy my "vintage lifestyle", and what I've learned along the way. This is my own humble answer to Whole Health. As is the case in most of life:

Our future is in our past!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is the very best blog I've ever seen- much better than that Pioneer Woman crap!