“A human being is the kind of machine that wears out from lack of use. There are limits, of course, and we do need healthful rest and relaxation, but for the most part we gain energy by using energy.
Often the best remedy for physical weariness is thirty minutes of aerobic exercise.”
— George Leonard, Mastery, p.120
The human body wears out from “lack” of movement rather than too much movement. It’s like an airplane. Airplanes are meant to fly. Or like a car. A car is meant to drive. There are airplanes from the 1940s and earlier, that with a bit of restoration, are still flying in their original configuration. There are cars that have hundreds of thousands of miles on them as a result of being consistently driven. Of course airplanes, cars and people need to be not only flown, driven, or physically exercised a lot, but they also need to be taken care of and well maintained.
When airplanes don’t fly, or cars sit without being driven, they start deteriorating and rusting out. While they don’t stay sleek and shiny forever, with good, basic, overall maintenance and parts replaced at times, they will last for much longer than the plane that sits and is rarely flown, or the car that sits out without being driven and accumulating rust.
The same is true of the human body, particularly as it gets older. If we retire to our recliner or to the lounge on a cruise ship, we will atrophy, rust out and slowly deteriorate. Our hinges rust out, our muscles become small and weak (sarcopenia). Our bones get brittle and easy to break. Our lung capacity decreases and our heart muscle loses power.
But with exercise and good fuel, along with rest and relaxation, we can last a long time. Nutritionists and medical professionals tell us that most chronic illness result from inflammation and “clogged tubes”. Inflammation and “clogged tubes” are the result of our physical stagnation and poor food choices. We have to be careful to not let it happen.
As we get older, most of us start looking at what we feed ourselves and either say, “the hell with it” or say, “I’ll start eating better”. It’s pretty much the same with exercise and physical movement. We either make the poor choice or the good one. We don’t need to be told which is which. We just need to choose the right one.
Why do so many of us opt for the wrong choice? That’s the question of a lifetime. You can walk out the front door and keep walking for a half hour or so or you can plop down on your recliner and turn on the box. You can go to the store and buy real food, or you can order from the pizza place. It’s all a function of choices.
So, what do I leave you with today? That there are choices, and they are yours to make. Make them mindfully and carefully. Your choices determine how well you age. Don’t let your body rust out.
Thank you for reading.