I always remember the words of George Halas, the owner of the Chicago Bears football team. When he was well into his eighties, a friend found him in his office on a Sunday. When asked WHY he was working on a Sunday, he responded, “It’s only work if there’s someplace else you’d rather be.“
How can you age if you never know what time it is? The healthiest state one can be is when you are doing something which makes you lose track of time. When I am doing something that I love, I am in a trance state. I believe when we are being creative our physiology gives our body a profound live message. The sad part is that too many people wait until they are told they have a limited amount of time left to live before they start living their chocolate ice cream.
The expression, “start living your chocolate ice cream,” came from one of my children, when I asked him what he would do if he had only fifteen minutes left to live. He said, “I’d buy a quart of chocolate ice cream and eat it.” But what I’ve had to learn is that we each have our own flavor and brand of chocolate ice cream. I have letters from people who did all of the things they wanted to do before they died. They were not denying their mortality, just enjoying their life. Their letters often end with: “I didn’t die and now I’m so busy I am killing myself. Help, where do I go from here?” I tell them to take a nap.
When you ask adults which day of the week is detrimental to their health, they will tell you, Monday. When you ask kids, they tell you Saturday and Sunday. Why? Because they are doing so much they get exhausted. But, they are doing what they love and so a rest will restore them while the adults are not helped by physical rest.
So, do not wait to start behaving the way you want to and living your life…
Dr. Siegel’s advice ties in with the Foundation’s Living Medicine and Aging-Into-Health message. The Foundation for Living Medicine believes that we should have the opportunity to LIVE our lives fully until we die. Our conscious choices of how we may want to live out the end of our lives are just as important as the healing journeys that we have chosen for living. We Age into Health when we are able take in the good, and accept the bad, as we pass through our journeys in life.
Please share with us. What is your favorite flavor and brand of ice cream? What is it that you want to do with the rest of your life?