American actress, Helen Hayes, was born on this day in 1900 (died 1993).
Helen Hayes certainly didn’t know the meaning of the word rest. Or at least not of slowing down. One of 12 (at this count) people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award (EGOT), Hayes had a career that spanned almost 80 years.
Rest or not, I’m not going to have an acting career like that. Or, any career like that.
Mugshots (click the pic)
And that’s okay.
The point is, whatever you’re doing, don’t stop.
I’ve learned that in dealing with my health, and specifically with arthritis.
It’s a simple fact that if I don’t move, if I don’t stay active, it gets worse and my joints lock up.
It’s the same with machinery, or men made out of tin.
As you, because of course you’re a long-term reader, already know, I’ve been more consistent about focusing on my health lately. I have a long way to go, but I’m feeling, and if I do say so myself, looking better.
In full honesty, I need to be more consistent with regard to not cheating on the diet (or, more correctly, eating plan), and I need to up my game with regard to fitness training. Alternating between the pool and the bike, with an occasional daytime walk, is not a bad thing. It’s not enough.
Likewise with the writing. I let things sit for far too long saying “I want to do that,” or “I wish I had time to do that.”
I have the time if I make the right choices.
Sometimes, as I was reminded in an article I read yesterday morning, the right choice is to say “no.”
There’s a fine line between not resting and being over committed.
Yes, we all have the same 24-hour day, but no amount of planning, or scheduling, or miracle elixirs will help us add a single hour..or minute…to that day.
So, we choose wisely what we can and should be doing.
What’s your focus?
I’m looking at two words for me: Creativity and Health.
On the creative side, that’s writing, theatre, and graphic art.
On the health side, that’s physical, spiritual, and financial.
Sure, those are broad terms and there’s a lot more things that fit in under each of those categories. So, I have to choose wisely.
But choosing wisely never means quitting, or resting. And, for the immediate future, not quitting the day job.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Sometimes the body and the spirit require rest.
That’s different than stopping or giving up.
I don’t think I need to explain that to you. It’s all about finding that balance.
Helen Hayes didn’t have an eighty-year career and live into her mid-90s by not understanding that.
AND FINALLY…
I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time to rust. I’ve got magic to do.
American actor, singer, and dancer, Ben Vereen, was born on this day in 1946.
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