Tuesday, November 5, 2024

The Price of Health

Perhaps a better title for this blog might have been ‘Monetizing Health for Fun and Profit.’ Who knew there’s money to be made in clogged arteries, fat bellies, weak knees and failing eyesight. Never one to miss an opportunity to make a buck in our capitalistic society, businesses of all sizes, shapes and forms have now realized that for many of us ‘health is wealth’ and they mean to capitalize on it big time.


To be honest, I came to the same conclusion about health a long time ago. Material possessions lost their luster, what little there was of it, and were replaced by something far more valuable and priceless. Health became paramount and without it everything else paled in comparison.

At any age, all the money in the world doesn’t mean a damn thing if you don’t have your health. And as wealthy as some folks are, few of them can buy their way back to health once it’s gone.


In retrospect, I’ve been very lucky. I think I’m in fairly good shape simply because I started running early on and never stopped until I was well past 70. After one foolish weekend in the service, I stopped drinking and haven’t had a drop of hard liquor in over 60 years now. I’ve never smoked (Okay, that weed doesn’t count during my wannabe hippie years), and I’ve maintained my weight pretty well.


‘Later in life’ issues often prompt a reflective glimpse back in time. The famous Irish poet Oscar Wilde once said, “The final mystery is oneself.” So how does one unravel the mystery of self? It probably can’t happen without self-awareness and self-awareness won’t happen without reflection. If reflection tells you to change your lifestyle, all you have to do is open your wallet.


Reflecting back on events in one’s life can bring about new insights into your present circumstances.  Health more than most other events can bring that to the forefront. To that end, a whole new category of businesses is catering to those seeking physical and mental rejuvenation and restoration.

Drug companies seem to be at the forefront of prescribing chemical compounds for all sorts of ailments and shortcomings.  A little pill or chemical injection in your body and the weight just seems to fall off. No dieting, no exercising, just get juiced up and let the guilt of being over-weight fade away with each television sitcom watched. Personally, I think it sounds like investing in bitcoin and letting the money roll in. But, that’s just me, a doubter.

The variety of commercial enterprises seeking to help with one’s health is quite astounding. When Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop line can be found in Target stores and on Amazon, you can bet the wellness trend has gone mainstream. The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) has estimated that:’ the wellness economy is worth $6.3 trillion globally and is set to hit $8.5 trillion by 2027.’


The wellness real estate market is also growing by leaps and bounds, even beating out wellness tourism. Some see it as a kind of wellness Disneyland where thermal bathing blends in naturally with family-friendly water-based activities. Most of these new health resorts and lodgings will feature both ancient and contemporary treatments – from acupuncture to IV vitamin cocktails along with a ready mix of well-being practitioners, fitness trainers, and health coaches, all promising personalized care for mind, body and spirit. What’s not to like; if you have the money to pay for it.


For the rest of us, there’s still hope. As the cliché goes, it’s never too late to begin over again. Wellness resorts aside, I think one can have their own personal maintenance program with diet, simple exercising and relaxation. When my mother and stepfather couldn’t dance anymore at ages ninety and eight-two respectively, they took up cards to strengthen their minds. I didn’t recognize it back then but their actions were a powerful motivator for me to keep pressing on.


Assessing what is important at this stage of one’s life really comes down to the basics. Health, family, friendships and life experiences. All the rest is soon to be outdated, worn out or soon to be replaced by next season’s newest trend.

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Power Circles

It was 2020 and a strange new virus had shut down most of the world. We were leaving Palm Springs and heading home for much of the same self-imposed isolation back in Minnesota. The year was turning out like no other we had experienced before.


Unlike Sharon who was quite comfortable being sequestered in our house that summer because of COVID-19, I was chomping at the bit to ‘get out of Dodge.’ LA Fitness was off limits as were restaurants, the library and other past social gathering spots. As it turned out the best part of that adjusted summer was reacquainting myself with old friends and solidifying friendships with new ones. I called them my ‘coffee and chat’ sessions.

Two articles in Natural Awakenings magazine brought this to mind.



Both articles talked about the power and purpose of community and social interaction. One commented that: ‘There is a growing movement that encourages us to find our tribe-those that resonate with our own core values, interests and lifestyles. While historically associated with Indigenous groups, a ‘tribe’ is defined as a social division consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect. The point is to surround ourselves with supportive individuals that uplift us and provide a sense of belonging.’

My own personal experience found that one-on-one exchange was the best way to connect with others. Three’s a crowd, four is too large. Personal exchange between two consenting adults makes for great intellectual interaction on a wide variety of topics.

My first conversational exchange began innocently enough. One of my friends and I discovered the solitude of a lakeside pavilion looking over still waters in the crisp early morning air. It was the perfect peaceful setting for great coffee and thoughtful, insightful, challenging conversations. The surroundings were pretty spectacular too.



For my other friends, the outdoor settings varied from parks, patios, porches, shelters, and other drafty spots with plenty of air circulation and room for our camp chairs spread apart. It worked like a charm so much so that most of us agreed it was a pleasant alternative to the traditional nosey, crowded coffee shops of the past.

Sharon whimsically called them my playdates. I prefer to call them as cerebral salons, catch-up sessions, or simply strengthening the bonds of friendship. It all comes down to enjoying several hours of easy discussion, contemplation, soul-sharing thoughts and sharing the warmth of true friendship. Well-earned reminiscing challenging entrenched thinking, clarifying the past, filling in the memory gap.


Over time, natural attrition and life changes have reduced the group by a couple of members. The ones that survived have grown in depth and sharing; for each of us a very nurturing experience. Each spring when I return from Palm Springs, I try to replicate some of what we captured that first summer when the early morning sun warmed our camping spots and added to the serenity of our friendship.

True wealth comes in good health and friendships. I am a very wealthy person.

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

The Problem with Old People

The problem with old people is….me! It’s really as simple as that. It’s taken me a long time to figure that one out. As I was growing up, without the benefit of a nuclear family or loving grandparents, old people to me were always furrowed eyebrows, ‘don’t touch that’ comments and ‘you wouldn’t understand’ statements. The absence of a concerned teacher, aunt, uncle or relative didn’t help dissuade me from that conclusion.

The ‘older generation made it very clear to us that ‘children should be seen and not heard.’ The good nuns in grade school and Christian Brothers in high school didn’t do much to dispel that notion of youthful inadequacies. It wasn’t until my ‘Lost Years’ (ten years between high school and marriage) that I was able to finally break free of that older generation’s antiquated, moldy take on life.


Reflecting back, I can see now that those closeted champions of the church, my teachers in school, the boss at work, and even my relatives had pigeon-holed me as naturally as they always had anyone my age. Without the support of adults who cared about me, I was exposed to that generational slant on the younger set. As I got older and surer of myself, their snarling comments gradually wore thin and were ignored.

So, when that old warehouse manager on my Saturday morning side hustle would always greet us college men with: ‘God-damn College kids,’ it just brought a warm glow to my heart and a smile on my face. He hated his life and what our youthful exuberance said to him. His loss, not mine.


I’ve often spoken disparagingly about the ‘old men in the coffee shop.’ These are the retirees, the unemployed and the bored who spend their days rehashing their make-believe youth and bitching about everything around them. Farmers are the absolute worst at this sour take on the world. While we’ve always had ‘salons’ for the intellectual elite, these coffee shop clichés are usually for gossip and complaining alone. From my travels in Europe, I know it’s not just an American thing.


Perhaps my distain for the attitudes of old people is hereditary. My mother used to complain about old folks when she was in her seventies and eighties. Sharon and I never quite got it; thinking instead that once you’ve reached that station in life, you’re supposed to defend your own kind instead of criticizing them. I was wrong. Now I get it.


My mother and my step-father were still dancing and playing cards in their mid-to-late eighties. While other seniors around them were slowing down, they were accelerating their pace of living. Nothing wrong with that. Her distain for others her own age was by no means admirable but it was (in her simple, crude way) understandable.

Reflecting back now on some of my conversations with her, I’m guessing that she simply couldn’t express her feelings that well. She saw no benefit to bitching about one’s aches and pains, or diminishing driving skills or slowness in their gait. She and Erwin (my step-father) were still active and so should other folks their age. I might have been a bit more diplomatic but her point was understood.


I’m at the stage now in life where the passing of my high school classmates is accelerating. But that crucible of old age doesn’t have to pervert our reality with a lot of negativities. I won’t apologize for my mother’s insensitive approach to criticizing her age group nor will I emulate it. Other folks are going to do what they’re going to do. If slowing down and grousing about life is a part of their lives that doesn’t mean it has to be a part of mine.

There’s still much to celebrate with life. Bitching and complaining only gets in the way of that appreciation.