Big lessons can come from little beings. This happened recently in an aha sort of way. Having a back problem since a car accident some thirty years ago, I have a lot of chronic pain. Movement helps and I have belonged to a gym for over twenty years. One of the first things you learn is to warm up muscles before exertion, work out with weights and cardio to strengthen and increase endurance, then stretch your muscles.
To the aha moment, I have an infant grandson. I watched him awaken when he was a few weeks old with great fascination. First he shrugged his shoulders way up, rolled his head right and left, raised his arms over his head, arched his back, stuck out his bottom, lowered his arms and pushed them down as his straightened and stretched his legs. He performed a gentle and complete body stretch after being still for a few hours. This innate genius, less I get too excited as a proud grandmother, exists in our cocker spaniel too. As adults, we often skip this simple yet vital step when we wake up. It's feet to the floor and hit the ground running, or limping for many.
Let's flash back to the 50's, baby boomers. Remember Romper Room? " Bend and stretch, reach for the stars. There goes Jupiter, here comes Mars". If you recall, back then, Pluto was still a planet, the ninth. It has now been reclassified as a dwarf. But, hey, a rose by any other other name....right? It is still in orbit, dwarf or not. Back to the stretch, it is good for you! You are born knowing how to do it. Keep it up. Like swallowing, we are born knowing how to do it and most of us exercise that skill frequently with great delight every day.
Stretching ourselves keeps us young and vital. This applies to other areas of life as well. Stretching our mental skills with reading, math, word quizzes, and puzzles keeps our brains sharp and wards off senility. Learn something new, stretch your mind and force your brain and your body to perform in a new way. It increases the brain activity and the pleasure releases endorphins that make you happy. It is a win win situation.
To stay current in the work place, you must stretch yourself professionally. Keep on track with the technology, marketing, demographics that keep your company growing and let people know you are in the know. With so much downsizing going on, your experience may be overlooked in favor of younger career seekers with fresh skills and fearless ambition.
Stretching yourself creatively may lead to discovery of talents you never knew you had. I've met artists who never painted until over the age of fifty. In a creative writing class I took, half the students were members of AARP and their gift of expression was astounding. Origami, haiku, Argentine tango, watercolors, photography, Feldenkrais, Italian for beginners, Chinese cooking, organic gardening, are all classes offered in adult education. Stretch your imagination and your social circle while you are at it. Try something new. You will be glad you did.
The photo featured is of Charlotte, a cherished friend. She is a dancer, runner, fashion stylist, free spirit who inspires me with her joie de Vivre. Curious, full of adventure she makes the most of each day. Charlotte is savvy, globally conscious, and spiritually perceptive. Seeing her on Facebook delights me to no end as she struts her fashion stuff creatively and confidently. She raises stretching to a fine art!
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