“There is no knowledge so hard to acquire as the knowledge of how to live this life well and naturally.”
– Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592)
In the cool of the morning, a light breeze caused the leaves in the trees to flutter ever so slightly. The soft morning light filtered through the branches. Flowers were in bloom, pinks, yellows and blues. The grass had been cut, as had the fields, so I could see all the way to the lake. My right hand held my morning coffee and the left a small devotional book published in 1916 that I found at a flea market over 40 years ago. I bought it because the title said, “God’s Minute.” It made me feel bad to think I didn’t have 60 seconds to read a devotional, so I bought it and have been reading it ever since. I was reading it that morning as I slid my sandal off and rubbed Harry’s, the cat’s, belly with my bare foot. At that moment the whole world seemed absolutely perfect. And so, I thought … I wonder if heaven looks exactly like this? I would not be disappointed.
It’s not that I think about heaven more these days; I’ve always thought about heaven. When I was 8 years old, I wrote my first will. I left everything to my mother. I figured she might need my things more than my dad. At 8 years old I didn’t think about getting older. I just thought about going to heaven. These days I find myself thinking a little more about getting older; I want to do it well, in as far as it depends on me. I also think it will help those around me if I do those things to keep myself healthy, so I try. Here’s a few examples:
A good way to start the day is in silence and mediation, with a cup of coffee and two cats at your bare feet, while watching the beautiful day unfold and being grateful for all of it. Being outside is for everyone, even if you sit and stare at a potted plant or sunflowers growing in an alley. It’s real, it’s nature. And I think cats are pretty plentiful if you really want one.
Exercise is always good, even if you just stroll for starters. When you go for a checkup they ask if you exercise. Medical professionals want “weight-bearing” exercise to build bones. “Your bones will mold to the demands of the muscle,” I was told, so I lift things.
Good nutrition is important. You know, fresh foods. I consulted with a compounding pharmacist and learned a lot of vitamins depend on other vitamins or you might not get any benefit. Like calcium requires vitamin D3 and D3 requires K2 and K2 requires fat, because it’s fat soluble. It takes a little studying.
Sleeping well is important, and that might be my favorite part. “AgeLess: Take Control of Your Age and Stay Youthful for Life” by Edward L. Schneider, M.D., says “Many studies have looked at the relationship between sleep and aging, and they find that individuals who sleep an average of seven to nine hours a night have the longest life expectancy.”
Amen to that.
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