Walking Matters

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Walking Matters

I should have known better! By writing last week about a more healthy lifestyle, I was asking for it. So many people engaged on a variety of fronts. Thank you to all of you for doing so. Some wanted me to be more prescriptive and I will try to dedicate another post to what MATS believe is a good recipe for a healthy lifestyle.

One of the reasons for not doing so is that I believe health is something personal and complicated, but also very multidimensional. Eating tends to be the most discussed and debated aspect of wellness. For good reasons. But sleep, love, sex, meaningful work, exercise, laughter, community, faith, money, legacy, and other dimensions also contribute to overall health. I subscribe to a well-balanced diet when it comes to all these factors and digging into all of them might be too personal! But, I promise, I will try! 

Justin Emond reminded me of a great Warren Buffet story that is worth sharing broadly. It's a powerful one. When Warren was asked about your mind and your body, he gave this analogy:

“Let’s say that I offer to buy you the car of your dreams. You can pick out any car that you want, and then when you get out of class this afternoon, that car will be waiting for you at home.”

As with most things in life, Buffett says there’s just one catch: It’s the only car you’re ever going to get...in your entire life.

“Now, knowing that, how are you going to treat that car?” he asks.

“You’re probably going to read the owner’s manual four times before you drive it; you’re going to keep it in the garage, protect it at all times, change the oil twice as often as necessary,” says Buffett. “If there’s the least little bit of rust, you’re going to get that fixed immediately so it doesn’t spread — because you know it has to last you as long as you live.”

The position you’re in with your car is exactly the position you’re in concerning your mind and body. In other words, the way you treat your car should be no different than the way you treat your body.

“You have only one mind and one body for the rest of your life,” Buffett says. “If you aren’t taking care of them when you’re young, it’s like leaving that car out in hailstorms and letting rust eat away at it. If you don’t take care of your mind and body now, by the time you’re 40 or 50, you’ll be like a car that can’t go anywhere.”

That says it all, doesn't it? To me, it seems our healthcare policy is designed on the notion that we all are driving rental cars! Oh well. Just had to add that stinger! 

So, with that, let me turn to this week's musings. I want to talk about the importance of walking. But perhaps not in the way you think. Yes, walking is great for your physical health. But I am talking of walking as signaling intent, walking as bringing people together, walking as making a choice of being actively involved vs passively engaged. Bear with me. 

You see, I think we are losing our minds. At least, our collective minds. Too many people are convinced we are heading in the wrong direction. Too many people feel pessimistic about our future. And who can blame anyone for feeling that way? I, too, harbor some of these feelings from time to time.

But there are at least two MAJOR problems with this collective attitude. First, it is sad. There is nothing sadder than a young pessimist, someone told me years ago. And it's true. I'd go further. Pessimism is sad, period. 

Second, and far worse, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. We are what we believe. And this is not about superstition; it's about the power of the collective consciousness. And we all can help change it. Little by little. Step by step.

Paths are made by walking. And we need to inspire ourselves and our friends to walk toward a brighter future. The writer and essayist Lu Xun had this beautiful thing to say about the power of collective hope:

“Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence.”

There are many variations to this theme. I have quoted the beautiful words from “Man in the Arena” by Teddy Roosevelt several times already, as well as my favorite Apple commercial of all time, the crazy ones. Love that. Or, the notion that "parents can tell but never teach until they practice what they preach". Or how about the wonderful Margaret Mead quote: to "never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

I can go on. But you get the point. Somehow, starting with myself, we have to work harder to find the inner strength to turn fear into hope and disbelief into belief. To stop passively watching and commenting on what we resist and more actively start walking towards what we insist. What we resist, persists, they say. So, let’s join the “insistence movement” and together, hand in hand, walk towards the land of opportunity. Motions help emotions. It's true physiologically as well as philosophically.

I will end with this 1 min clip by Simon Sinek that pretty much sums it up. About obstacles and about choosing the path. It's a choice we all have.

Anyway. That's a wrap. I want to stop talking and start walking. There are endless opportunities out there. Let's go towards them!