By Miles Patrick Yohnke © 2010
Last week I saw Allan. A person I went to high school with. Allan has severe Cerebral Palsy. He is disabled. In a wheelchair. Thankfully his mind is sharp. He had so much trouble getting around from class to class. Our school was very old. It had many floors and so many stairs.
It had been about thirty years since I saw him last. Nothing had changed. He was still the same. Still as clear as then. That same big vibrant smile on his face. And it seemed somewhat fitting as he was being lifted into a vehicle when I saw him.
When I'm on the highway cycling or other sports I perform, I think of people like Allan. And how lucky we are to have our health. We have to use our bodies. They will fail when we don't use them. When we eat improperly. Exercise improves your mood. Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed than you were before you worked out. You'll also look better and feel better when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem. Regular physical activity can even help prevent depression. Exercise combats chronic diseases. Regular physical activity can help you prevent or manage high blood pressure and lower the buildup of plaque in your arteries.
And there's more. Regular physical activity can help you prevent type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and certain types of cancer. It is stated that when one exercises there is a sixty percent decrease in getting breast cancer. Why wouldn't one exercise? I just hate seeing people cheat themselves of it.
God creates this beautiful body full of muscle and detail and one doesn't use it. What a sin! It goes hand in hand. People aren't happy in their lives, yet they really do nothing to correct this. They dwell in their own dysfunction. They think they should, that they should do something more with their life. Well, when does this happen? When does this occur? We make that decision. We get just this one life. If waiting for it to happen, then one is in for a long, dark wait.
Unlike Allan we can exercise in many ways in which he may be limited. We should never take that for granted. Today is that day. That flash of light.
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