Almost ten years ago, I made a personal vow to myself.
My vow was all about committing to a life of artistic merit.
My decision was to give myself fifty years to “make it” in the arts.
While my idea of having made it has changed considerably over the years, my desire to constantly create is what I’m planning to do for the next fifty years.
By giving myself fifty years to develop as an artist and produce work while continuing to evolve as a human and artist, the all or nothing desperation of : Convince me that I’ve made the correct life choice is no longer undergirding what and how I create.
Instead, I am allowed to fall in love with doing the work and relishing the entire process.
Most artists spend years grappling with the mad scramble that is the need for approval and acceptance of peers and those that are farther along on the artistic expression line.
We pray that someone will see our good and the things we can offer.
If there is a dedication to living for 1,000 years and we’re looking at it in chunks of fifty-year intervals, then the rush to maniacally do as much as we can as quickly as we can is no longer the focus.
Our focus now becomes one of health and longevity.
If you knew you would have eight or nine decades of living would you make the same lifestyle choices you are making now?
My guess would be no.
All around me, family and friends are aging and predictably taking on all the ailments that go along with it.
Heart issues, depression, prostate problems, sleeplessness.
My take on this is simple and yet I have no idea if it is easy enough to repeatedly apply.
I’ve been listening to a number of doctors who suggest a number of preventative measures.
For example – coconut oil, desecrated liver, spinach smoothies.
My take on health is that if you have neglected one of the core issues (spirituality, strengthening mental acuities, diet, and exercise) then something in your body will let you know.
The folks I know who live well handle the four biggies and don’t wait for a diagnosis.
For example in October, I am planning a serious overhaul- hot yoga twenty times, no sugar, caffeine, grains, white flour and plan to keep a food diary to see how my body responds.
October (as the gateway for Fall Holidays) is wrought with all kinds of potential stressors.
The trick will be not taking on anything or any problem that does not lend itself to the end game of 50 years of happy, healthy, productive living.