THINGS UNDONE
Very few days go by without us being reminded that we should have done certain things which we have left undone.
All of us are guilty, too, without exception.
Let me tally up a few of them as examples of how lax we can become, and so easily, too.
Do you get enough rest, for instance? Do you sleep erratically? Can it be that your irregular hours do you notifiable physical harm? I have found, by experience, that if one keeps regular hours - getting up and retiring at more or less the same times each morning and evening, life proceeds smoother and without undo complications. I am not a harsh, demanding stickler for such rules because a change of pace can also bring some special benefits as well, if properly compensated for by a nap now and then or just a period if "quiet time" time during the active day.
We need to stay within a certain, pre-set framework insofar as foods , medications and routines of work and play are concerned. I know there are now certain physical acts which I can no longer perform, so I've got to temper my ways of doing so that I do not violate any of the warning signs which tell me - quite plainly, as a rule - when I am "overdoing it" or "showing off". Ego does play a role in much of this, too, in case you think my use of the term "showing off" too harsh or too playful. We learn it individually. I have come to know I can't do the outdoor gardening work I used to get done as routine. I see other older men continuing to do such chores, but not for long. Om,e had to learn things the hard way and we do not all have the luxury of time in which to use trial-and-error methods. I know they are watching me, too. Every now and then we spot each other "showing off" by doing physical things we know, full well, are either forbidden or questionable.
Yet there is another aspect of it all, as well. Often we see older people slacking off on on mental activities at this special time when they should be increasing that sort of thing while eliminating physical work. The tendency toward become what is now called a "couch potato" is a hallmark of our times with many people - far too many - with TV as the main (but not to only) area of concern. It is a mistake to cut down on one's reading, for instance. It is, perhaps, an error to turn to technology in the form of computerized equipment which intimidates us even more so than it does the younger people who are now compelled to make use of it daily. Use your computer as an "adjunct to"; as an "extension of" living'; as "condiment" rather than "entre" and as a "dessert" rather than the "main course" of your intellectual meal.
A.L.M. March 30, 2004 [c504wds]
