Or: A 5,000-Step Reality Check
Or: Digital Sidewalk: Reaching Thousands Without Moving an Inch
Hit 5000 steps and drop your achievement here.
Are you kidding? Is this an actual writing prompt?
There once was a time when hitting 5000 steps meant it was about 7:30 in the morning. Life has slowed down a lot since then. These days, maybe on a busy day I might do a thousand. For me to hit 5000 anymore, means that about 10 days have gone by.
It’s not that I’m lazy. I am certainly settled into a very sedate lifestyle. I’m sure getting out would help with energy levels. I’m sure it would help build up stamina. I’m sure I would have better overall health.
The problem is that it’s not always so simple. Besides the need for motivation and purpose to get out and do something, it can be a chore to organize and orchestrate.
The Good Old Days of Constant Motion
Besides being old, I’m blind and it can be easy to get lost. It hasn’t always been that way. I used to be a lot more adventuresome and getting outside. I would grab my long white cane and set out my mental map of the neighborhood and go for a walk. Sometimes to the post office and back. Sometimes to the meeting hall where the Boy Scouts met. Sometimes just to make a lap through the neighborhood, or down towards the high school football field.
Later, I got my first guide dog. You may have seen us together because I use a photo of us together as the profile image on my website. That was probably at the peak of my activity. In some ways I wish I had gone sooner to be paired with a guide dog. Especially in the months leading up to getting him. I was in Chicago going through training for most of the prior year. Walking all over the city, and taking trains and buses. During the time together I owned my own business, and we would actively walk through the building all day. Once in a while we would even walk home. It was about 3 miles so we didn’t do it very often.
Even after transitioning away from the business, and slowing down a little bit, we still would take walks around the neighborhood. Once in a while through the park, or stop in for a coffee or retreat nearby. He was eventually retired, and after some health trouble crossed over the rainbow bridge.
As life continued, my knees began to show their wear and tear.
Embracing a Gentler Pace
As life rolls into those retirement years, I sometimes wonder if my grandkids think I’m just being lazy. I feel like I’ve spent my time putting my dues in, and I deserve the time spent and relaxing in front of the computer, or in the cozy recliner watching a television show or listening to radio.
The 5-Room Reality Check
There’s a word exercise I came across some time ago. The object is to become aware of the number of people you might come in contact with on any given day. The number might be higher than you would expect. Here it is: name the five most common places you go to each day. Of course, this exercise means to focus on anywhere you go externally. To the gas station, to the store, to the workplace, etc. And think of the number of people you cross paths with in carrying out the things you do. Think of the number at any given place. Even those you might meet in the parking lot, or on the sidewalk. The number grows. You have that effect on that many people.
When I was asked that question, I had to honestly give my five common places. The bedroom, the bathroom, the living room, the kitchen and the dining room. It just illustrates how simple and comfortable my life has become. I still encounter several people. My wife, kids and grandkids primarily. People at church. And since I could probably add another location to my list, the Internet, I can add several hundreds of people. Maybe even a few thousand. Mostly people I’ve never met. People like you, who are reading my blog.
5000 steps? Ask me next week.
Hope you enjoy the music track for a little mood music! Let me know in the comments.
