last summer, we went on a bike ride up and down the coast … a magnificently beautiful day with absolutely perfect weather… blue skies, big fluffy clouds, seagulls flying over head, waves crashing…  and I had tears in my eyes.

I was simply astounded by the number of people who had major physical ailments and were still out there MOVING…

we passed a runner whose back was so hunched over that he was looking at his feet while he ran.  and yet he was still moving…

we passed another guy who was pushing himself (in his wheelchair) along side another runner.  even he was still moving…

WHAT MOTIVATION!  WHAT ENCOURAGEMENT!  WHAT A CHALLENGE!

The point?  Sir Isaac Newton’s first law of motion reminds us that a body in motion stays in motion (paraphrased)

A few years ago I was told that I have a form of arthritis in my right knee (complete lack of cartilage).  Amazingly, once I started moving more regularly (in my case, cycling) I quickly learned that the ache wasn’t as bad when I kept the joint moving.  It is a bit counter-intuitive, but so very true.

But, from time to time, I get lazy… I make excuses… I put another need over this need… I need to just Get Up & Go…

When I get lazy, and that happens from time to time, my knee will start to ache within a few weeks… and I scold myself…

I know exactly how to avoid this ache and yet my laziness wins…

Well, back to the coastal bike ride…  it really drove it home when I was putting every last bit of energy into my pedals.   i was pedalling my hardest up a long and steady hill…  and yet I was moving so slowly that a runner ran right passed me… yes, a runner passed me on a bike!  how embarrassing…

I wanted to stop right then and there, get off the bike… and just sit on the curb.  But I knew if I stopped that I wouldn’t be able to start again…  so I just kept moving.

Really?  A runner just passed me?!  hmph…

Anyway, just keep moving… it’s easier that way…