These days all I seem to want is to escape from the stress, uproar, and commotion that is everywhere I look. People driving like maniacs to get to work and to get home from work. Posts on Facebook about how much everyone is doing, or has done, or is going to do. Protests about low pay, no pay, people overpaid and people not paying their fair share. Politicians ripping each other apart with curses, bad names, and derogatory labels. Carbs are bad, water is unsafe to drink, fruit is no good unless it is organic, sugar and salt will kill you. Dogs and cats abused, elephants revolting, animals in zoos fighting back. Freeways unsafe, schools unsafe, even bathrooms unsafe. Yikes! What has happened to us? Are we that committed to insanity?
I think it is time to take a few steps back, or even just stop and sit down right where I am and watch the wind blow. Look at the trees. Listen to the birds. Smell the flowers.
For so long I have linked success with getting things done. The more you do the better you become, right? Well I have recently realized that doing is not quite as important as being. Being what? Being happy.
Of course I know that not everyone will agree with me. That some people like doing, in fact they love doing. And getting. Getting a bigger house, a faster car, a better job. And there is nothing wrong with that. Absolutely nothing wrong. We should all ascribe to improving our situations in life. That goes without saying. But at some point enough is enough. And the problem is realizing where that point is. I think I have passed that point.
Passed the point where I really care what clothes I wear when I go out. Passed the point where I care if my car is clean or my shoes are cool. I don't want a Finisher Medal and loaded swag bag with shirt, socks and hat - I just want to run. Without crowds and clocks. My big house no longer seems successful, it just seems like a lot of work. My cool job that I used to love is now just something I do to pay all of my bills. What changed?
I am not completely sure. At some point recently I realized that my days are numbered. And I began to wonder if this is what I really want to do with the rest of my life. Don't get me wrong, I love what I Have done at Total Body Fitness - introducing people to the multi-sport lifestyle for the last 25 years, and I believe that I have truly helped make the world a better place by teaching exercise, fitness, healthy eating and play. But at some point every teacher has to step down and make room for new instructors to take over. I think it is nearing that time.
I want to read and write, paint and draw. Learn to play music and speak foreign languages. I want to hang out with cats and kittens, play in the sand and snow, re-watch old movies and try new recipes. I want to discover new places and read about old places. Give me history instead of headlines. I'd rather be in dark smelly caves than bright shiny malls. Let me wade through rivers looking for ancient arrowheads instead of answering emails. I have reached a limit.
What does this mean? I am not completely sure. I have a business to run and a house to maintain (fix-up and sell) with responsibilities to both, plus a life-long friend and business partner that I am committed to, with obligations to keep and tasks to complete. So in the short term I will buckle-down and work hard at achieving set goals, accomplishing important steps to continued success, and maintain my pursuit of changing lives one at a time with health, fitness and the multi-sport lifestyle. But whilst doing this I think I will slow down a bit, smile some more, and take a few extra breaks away from the computer, away from the stress, and spend more time with my wife - who has taught me the most important thing in life: being happy.
