Better than standing still

In search for truth, justice and the American way, Pierini Fitness always takes great delight in listening to elders for new pearls of wisdom in his gracefully aging journey.

The late and great Tommy Kono shared much wisdom with me in the many private conversations we had during the last years of his life.  One of my favorites was when he contrasted the goals he was chasing at various points in his life.  His verbal script was predictably the same.  He’d say how when he was younger, he always tried to improve but once older, his goal was to maintain and then, finally, as an elderly person, his goal was to survive.

So true and something I think about all the time, although I’m not yet willing to be an official card-carrying member of the survive club.  Despite still spending time in the improve club, honestly, I spend most of my time in the maintain club.  But my day will come, God willing, where I’ll spend most of my time in survival mode and I’ll think of Tommy Kono when in this time zone. 

A recent conversation with an 81-year young client gave me a new pearl of wisdom with something he said.  I asked him how he was doing, and his reply made me chuckle. 

He said that he was getting gradually better and worse about equally and it didn’t seem to make much of a difference.  What a clever and wordy reply that was more fun to hear than saying he was doing the same.  His reply likely mirrors mine if asked the same question and I’m rigorously honest, something I struggle with and maybe so do you.  It acknowledges that despite my best efforts, the net sum zero game truth is a powerful force in my middle-aged man life. 

Sure, I can make some gains here and there, but chances are there are also losses of some type simultaneously taking place in my life.

Is it better to face this obvious truth or continue being in denial?  Or, maybe continue marching forward achieving some gains knowing that they’ll be greater than the losses along the way.  After all, two steps forward and one step back is better than standing still.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum