Did you know that loving and being loved can boost your immune system, reduce cardiovascular disease and depression, and lead to a longer life? What an amazing prescription! Instead of looking to medicines alone to alleviate the physical and emotional aches and pains of life, we can turn to the loving relationships we have with our mates, children, grandchildren, and good friends.

Love can also inspire exercise. When my husband was alive we joined a gym together and worked out on the same day whenever possible. Just seeing one another across the room motivated us to keep at it. I still keep that routine today even though he’s gone.

Fitness expert and trainer, Maria Kang, author of “Ten Things Fitness Teaches You About Life,” [http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/maria1.htm], suggests in her article that as we challenge our bodies through exercise, we learn valuable lessons that apply to everyday situations with the people we love.

She also recommends we take care of ourselves first so we have energy left to share with others. I like this reminder, especially as I grow older. To some it may sound ‘selfish,’ but in truth it’s the best gift we can give others because when we’re exercised, rested, nourished, and joyful we have a basket full of blessings to share with them.

Keeping our minds open to new information, is also a form of fitness. As we age it’s easy to shut down and shut up. But if we remain willing to continue learning and growing in our knowledge of how to care for ourselves, then we will be vibrant, as well as interesting to be around. And we’re likely to be more motivated to walk and hike and swim and play golf, or to engage in whatever form of exercise appeals to us.

Richard Simmons, fitness guru of the 1980s, adds a unique twist to the claim that love and fitness go together. He reminds his students that each of us is worthy of our own love. “You have to motivate yourself to fall in love with you.”  Unless we love and respect ourselves, all fitness and weight-loss attempts will fail.

[Shape,  July, 2004  by Anne M. Russell http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0846/is_11_23/ai_n6143084]

But the most important reminder of all–the one that assures ‘fitness’ for eternity is found in the Gospel according to Luke (10:27). “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

The perfect prescription for this uncertain time . . . and all times.

I’ve been a complete nut the last couple of months, studying for my DL renewal and the REAL ID, which is required of each of us who drive, by Oct. 1, 2020. Unless you prefer to use your passport when you travel in the US and/or abroad.

I took the 24 DMV practice tests over and over and over. I also read the DMV manual twice through and really paid extra attention as I read each item. It’s made me a more attentive driver for sure.

Photo by Cristian Musolino on Unsplash

I’m not sure how many years of driving are left to me but more than ever I consider it a privilege to get around on my own when I want to by having a car I can afford and that never lets me down. Of course it helps to have a son-in-law close by who is a car mechanic of the highest order! 😊

I made an appointment for early March and then marched right into the DMV office on time and ready with all the required documents. Everyone was courteous, kind, and professional. Within twenty minutes I had passed the test, posed for a photo, read the eye chart without a hitch (since I recently had cataract surgery), showed the correct documents and handed over my check.

I walked out with a sigh of relief and treated myself to a decaf latte breve at Starbucks. I deserved it. And of course I sent a prayer of gratitude to the one who always guides me.

But then came the ‘shelter in place’ order–so my car is resting in the garage.

I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go; Genesis 26:24

I think about words a lot, as well as their meaning. Although I try to be original in my expression, and provide readers with fresh images, I sometimes catch myself falling into a tunnel of cliches. But fortunately there is light at the end of this tunnel, as well as a good laugh and lots of fun in this most unexpected place.

When I get started it’s hard to quit. I can come up with more clichés than you can shake a stick at. Then I remember this too, shall pass, even though at the time I find it’s as easy as pie to fall under the spell.

My son Jim and I talked about this on one of his visits–since he, too, is a writer. We began trading clichés and couldn’t stop. Our conversation was suddenly a mixed bag of time-worn phrases, and we didn’t even know what most of them meant or how they originated. Since then I’ve found some neat web sites that provide the phrase, its origin and meaning, so at least I am now better informed when I let the cat out of the bag and start talking in clichés. I should let sleeping dogs lie, but what fun is that?

In fact, laughing at such silliness is one of the ways I remain in high spirits, feeling as good as gold and as mellow as fine wine. Oops! See what I mean? As much as Jim and I tried to avoid clichés like the plague, the more they sprang from our lips–and they’re still springing!

After an hour or more of this tomfoolery I vowed to be as quiet as a mouse so I wouldn’t add to the pile of phrases that was growing by leaps and bounds, but it didn’t work. Soon I was up the creek without a paddle, laughing all the way. In fact, we laughed till we cried, but even the tears couldn’t stop us. We were having more fun than a barrel of monkeys! I often wonder just how much fun that would be. That one really takes the cake!

By that time I felt like throwing in the towel, or more to the point, throwing the book at myself, the book of clichés, that is. On the other hand, if I did that, I’d be a sitting duck, stuck in a rut, or worse, up a tree and madder than a wet hen, worried that I’d gotten myself in a pickle with more than I bargained for!

Finally, I felt that I had said all I needed to say on this subject–at least for that day–so I decided to beat it like a rug before I hit the point of no return.

If this little story rings your chimes, let me know! I’ll be waiting with bated breath. Or maybe to you, this is simply much ado about nothing. Either way, I’d love to hear from you. Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Bite the bullet and send a note. I promise it’ll be a cake walk.

I want to assure you, however, that the buck stops here so don’t hold back even if you decide to send slings and arrows my way. Please send your own fresh as a daisy prose to me. It’ll lift your spirit and mine and put a feather in our caps!

That’s it for this week. And I’m sure you’re happy as a clam about that.

I went out of town for the weekend, eager for a get-away, time with friends, and a visit with my son. As I sailed north on the freeway I remembered a sign I had seen in the past. Rest Area Ahead.

I needed a bathroom break and a stretch. My right thigh was cramping and I was feeling a bit blinky-eyed—a sure indicator that it was time to pull over and get refreshed. Suddenly there was the sign. I slid into the exit lane and pulled into an open slot in the parking lot.

I hit the restroom, took a swig of cold water, popped a handful of nuts into my mouth and took a ten-minute nap, then a quick power walk around the rest area before starting again. I was good as new, ready for the next hundred miles.

I decided then to make this a ‘regular’ stop on all my trips north and south. What is the point of rushing, or pushing, or stressing? As I sat behind the driver’s wheel, I also saw how much this simple ‘time-out’ had refreshed my mind and spirit too.

When I think of the word ‘fitness’ or see it in print, I usually associate it with some form of exercise—the more cardiac-oriented the better. But is that the only meaning of the word? I mulled that over a bit. Today I’m more aware than ever of the need to rest…to come to a full stop each day for at least a few minutes, to spend time in nature, with our Creator, with ourselves.

This week let’s consider the importance of ‘time-outs.’ Not the kind for misbehavior (ha ha) but the kind that insures good health.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28 NIV)

A few weeks ago I attended a lecture at the Monterey Museum of Art. It was a gorgeous Saturday morning and when the event ended I couldn’t bear to simply go home. It was too wonderful a day to waste indoors. So I ventured across the road to a park and pond I love. I walked the path round and around and around again, snapping photos every lap.

Finally, I decided to stop and look and listen for a few moments as the wildlife splashed and played in the water, with not a care in the world. I realized then that I didn’t have a care in the world either–at least at that moment. All was well right then and there and after all that was the only moment that mattered since I couldn’t predict the future and the past was already gone.

Ah, if only I could live so serenely every day! I want to but I don’t always succeed. But what mattered then was the simple joy of a lovely outing all alone in a beautiful place on a gorgeous sunny day.