Image by mikebaird via FlickrAt this middle age I recall the part of life I have lived, I would say that I regret nothing but exercise!
I had a typical Chinese mindset that tends to separate physical part from mental part of our life. Many Chinese people seem to believe that a strong physical bodybuild represents lower intelligence (of course this is not stately recognized notion but I believe it was implied in many aspects of Chinese culture). Not that Chinese people don't want to be physically healthy, but lots of them just don't care much about exercises and sports. I believe I unconsciously hold this idea through my early years of life. That's why I was never into exercise, even though I desperately needed it since I was a teenager (my health was already bad during my early teen).
Now, under chronic condition, I realized that my physical being played a dominate role in my everyday life - it affects my life plans, short term goals, my relationships, my mood, and eventually my intelligence.
Had I known the importance of physical health, I would've exercised everyday! But good thing is that I am still in my middle age, my life still have many years to come. So I made my mind: when my condition gets normal, I will exercise literally -
EVERYDAY!
I am on the up side of 60's if age has anything to do with life. I have made a lot of mistakes in life. I will make a few more, I hope, before I no longer care. Yet, I would not be who I am without the mistakes. Mistakes are challenging times to learn from. To regret my past is to say I did not like who I am. If there is something I do not like I need to get up the courage to do something about it.. I was going to the gym 4/5 times a week for cardio and weights to help build muscle back that I lost with major back problems. Oh, yes there is definitely some weight issues too. chuckle chuckle.
ReplyDeleteGood luck..
Frank you are right, we learn from mistakes. Good to know you enjoyed your retired life!
ReplyDeleteInteresting, what you say about the Chinese outlook. I always thought it was the reverse. I'm thinking of Lao-Tzu: "Fill the belly and empty the mind"-which in a way is the philosophy I follow. I find physical activity and exercise exhilarating, and the world of the mind depressing and dreary.
ReplyDeletethanks np!
ReplyDelete"fill the belly and empty the mind", yes, this phrase might be one of the most well-known part of Dao De Jing, also the most controversial, because "empty the mind" in original chinese text is "make their minds ignorant". many historians believe this notion did more harm than good to chinese culture because through all dynasties emperors and intellects had followed this notion and successfully limited chinese intellectuals property to the minority of higher class of china. that's why the majority of chinse people (even now) stay uneducated. and when chinese people oversea mention about "chinese", "chinese people", "chinese culture", this majority of poor, strong bodybuild, from some perspective even much more mentally healthier chinese people are completely ignored.
I did not think about my physical health much when I was younger and I don't think many younger people do. This changed for me as a I aged and also after I siggered accidents and became ill.
ReplyDeleteI don't waste much time on regrest but do of sourse have a few. They are mainly foucused on my own begaior towards other people. Before I learned how to take care of myself deep within I was unable to be my own best freind and consequently I wasn't a good friend to others. Now I have my focus on being the best me I can be and I don't burden myself with regrets. I examine what happened and make amends wehere required but then I move on.
Clinging to the past and regrets that come with that scenario, or projecting into the future are only possible when one stops focusing on the now moment, and that's where I want my focus to be. I focus on my health in the here and now moment by taking care of myself as best as I can and taking care of myself also includes being my own best friend.
Thanks you for your friendsgip and for sgaring your thoughts and struggles in your blog with us.
Love and peace,
TiTi
I apologize for the typos. I am learning how to touch type and my keyboard has no lettering at all. The "g" key is next to the "h" key and I keep clicking the wrong one. :(
ReplyDeletethanks TT. certainly what you said was right. we should NOT live with regret.
ReplyDeletei do hope my writing/experience can be a reminder for some people who ignore the importance of physical health, especially those who failed understand how essential exercise is to our health (esp. chinese people). but i also agree, people don't change their mind until their own experience tell them to. as matter of fact, many people advised me to exercise more when i was young. so...
Perhaps major regretting is like believing in the world of spirits - you either do or you don't, and there's not much you can do about it. You have to regret mistakes obviously in order to learn, but regretting who you are or were seems less useful. My own youthful ill-health was quite beyond anyone's control at the time, and real exercise was out of the question. Moderate fitness came later, and the acceptance that I was never going to be one of nature's lovely people. Kind thoughts to my friends Yun yi and Ti ti.
ReplyDeletethanks Dr. Awsom!
ReplyDeleteLike NP said, "a wrong step is the right step once you take it".
didn't know you had health trouble.
take care!
mei
Amazing... God bless you!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Antônio Araújo!
ReplyDeleteI hear around me always about this word "regret/s" while I saying it is one of kinda "that is better to say sorry for something you did rather than sorry for what I've never done. But regrets, no matter what they are, still regrets remain. We are sad and we're poising our life equally.
ReplyDeleteRegrets that come after us, and running from the past, trying to capture our existence ..I am convinced that we all have our all own regret..that if we have the chance to return to a certain point in our lives, we'd definitely do a different thing or another. Boolshit! smiles.
The biggest regrets are of this present, this time, this hour, this ..now..
It's true that in the new beginning
"you" making maybe timid steps, then running with your entire human or soul being on that road,into this present because you'll realize that is the way to a life for a life that you only imagined and hoped it that you could never not even meet.
But, you'll meet. This is for sure.
Wishing you the best!
Dy,
xo
sorry for my bad english..and take care! smiles
thanks Dy! i appreciate your encouragement.
ReplyDelete