I'm currently reading a fantastic book series. The series is
"The Game" by Terry Schott. The premise is bizarre and really alters your way of
thinking about life. In short, Earth is a planet where avatars from
another planet live several lives as a replacement for traditional
schooling- youth gain much more knowledge by living and learning from real life
experiences.
What I really enjoy about the books is the emphasis on: 1.Life
is just a game, and you receive more points for doing meaningful
things, so don't "waste a play"; and 2. Anything is possible on earth-
people just don't realize they can do anything. In the book, very
skilled individuals can even learn to fly.
As one who suffers from a chronic, progressive muscle
disorder, I am often perturbed by people who say "you can do anything
you put your mind to." Because sometimes, you physically cannot. No
matter how hard you try. Recently however, even I have noticed small changes in my body's abilities.
I started practicing yoga last August... only 8 months ago. And
from time to time I will try something in class that I wasn't able to do
when I first started. I am getting better. My body is getting
stronger. Maybe it's only a small change, and maybe it's not enough to affect the challenges of daily living, but how remarkable it is to
notice those small progressions.
I've always thought that muscle strengthening, for me, was a lost
cause. You're constantly taking one step forward for every two steps
back. But my physical therapist will even say things like "I don't
think you were able to do that 3 months ago..." Our bodies are amazing machines, and we need to continually perform maintenance (healthy eating and regular exercise) in order to have the strongest machine possible.
Perhaps with a little extra effort we are able to achieve anything...
