She Saw No Good Reason to Act Her Age

It is a bright and shiny new year---well, just one day in! Right out of the gate I am confronted with a challenging thought: To what degree is my body holding back the potential of my mind?  It is not new that the health of the body is connected to the health of the mind.  But I am the first to admit that I spend quite a bit more time on improving my mind than my body (like 90% to 10%.) I am not proud of this fact. It is with no small measure of self-reflection that I confront this question.  

What is the origin of this challenging thought? Well, I love movies and I love free time! And so, I found myself on New Year’s Eve, watching a 2015 movie called The Age of Adaline about a woman who never grows old. Watching it wasn’t intentional. I just happened to have the movie on hand, and I just happened to have some free time to view it.

Right away I noticed that it seemed like a good choice for New Year’s Eve because the main character was born on New Year’s Day, and her life was dramatically changed one New Year’s Eve. What I wasn’t prepared for, however, was how I was struck by the image of a person whose mind continued to expand with no obstacles to her physical body. I began to wonder…if we really took care of our bodies to the best of our ability, would it free our minds to reach their greatest potential?

The premise of the story was that a freakish near-death experience had caused a young woman to stop aging at 29 years. Adaline continued to grow in wisdom and knowledge while her body remained the same. She spoke multiple languages and was well-versed in historical facts (presumably because she had lived through them.) I wasn’t sure if she was so brilliant by nature or by the fact that her body never slowed her down.

New years prompt us to consider renewed health and fitness goals. I wonder how a person might navigate life much more gracefully if one’s body didn’t break down. And not just gracefully—but more mentally powerfully. This notion fascinates me. Take away the challenge of adapting to an aging body, and the sky is the limit for intellectual growth.

Since it is unrealistic to plan on a freakish near-death experience to arrest the physical aging process, the next best thing is to take very good care of our physical bodies. I know that the aging process is inevitable---with the obvious exception of death. In the time I have remaining, I accept the challenge to make every effort to allow my mind to thrive in a body that is not an obstacle to my personal growth. On January 1st--I went on a bike ride!

Grateful to a random movie to remind me of the mind-body connection, I am marching forth to a better tomorrow!