When gasoline hit $4.00/gallon I resolved to walk more and drive less. I started to take the bus to work (which burns natural gas instead of petroleum products - an added bonus for the ozone). I started to walk across the street to the pharmacy and down the block to the grocery store. I started to run a mile with my dog instead of driving to the gym to "work out". I walked to the video store rather than driving two blocks. What happened?
You guessed it. My weight dropped 10 pounds, my gas bill plummeted, my car insurance dropped because I was putting less miles on my car each week and my dog was thrilled with the attention and the exercise I was giving her. I also found after the brisk walk to and from the bus stop gave me more energy at the beginning and end of my day. And the fresh air and sunshine lifted my mood. I arrived at work with my blood pumping, awake and alert, yet much more calm than when I fought rush hour traffic to get there. The walk from the bus home again stimulated a burst of energy which translated into house cleaning, gardening, drawing or other pursuits instead of crashing down on the couch after fighting my way through rush hour traffic. And the final clincher? I caught up on my reading while sitting on the bus. I flew through the pile of books and articles which had been piling up for months.
Yet, I worried that colleagues and friends would see me and think, "her private practice is not going so well" or "she is doing worse than I thought". I tried to get quiet and see where this was coming from and realized there is a prejudice in our culture toward appearing "successful". And successful is usually defined as making a lot of money. Making a lot of money is evidenced by the car we drive, the clothes we wear, the neighborhood we live in, and yes, the fact that we do not ride public transportation or walk anywhere. Now I sat down to question this value. As our waistlines become gargatuan and our rates of cancer, heart disease and diabetes soar while our budgets are bursting, is this really a healthy value to hold? So I persisted with my vow to walk and became more mindful of how I was defining "success". While I was pondering this, an interesting thing happened.
My receptionist read an article about resting heart rates. We both took ours. Hers was 76 beats per minute. Mine was 46 beats per minute. My receptionist, a chain smoker, informed me that my count could not be accurate. I told her to try it herself. She put her hand on my pulse and counted. It was 43 beats per minute.
A week later I went for my annual physical. The nurse pronounced my resting heart rate to be 44 beats per minute. I asked her what would make it low. She said I must work out and explained that a strong heart takes fewer beats to push the same amount of blood through the system than a weak heart requires.
So my dog is happier and healthier, my waist is smaller, my heart is stronger, my mood is better, my pocketbook is fatter and I am much more well read. That sounds like true success to me.
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