Happy Sunday and day 4 of 68 of my little self-improvement, change, experiment. It was a full day, so let’s get started… P.S. If you are interested in following along, you can subscribe or simply click on the 68 Days tag on this post….
Physical
Okay, since it’s Sunday I did sleep in a little. Today, since I wasn’t pressed for time, I decided to up my Fit Father Workout to the next level. Yes, I made it up to level 5 and back down. These exercises really get your heart rate up, at least they do for this old man. I was proud that I made it all the way through without giving up. I also had a “coach” in my 9 year-old daughter who counted my push-ups. 26 push-ups doesn’t seem like much and I’m sure I could do them all in a row. However, when you throw in the other exercises, it gets to be a bit strenuous. If your not familiar with how this type of workout proceeds, I’ll share briefly. 1 Hip Thrust, 1 Squat, 1 Press, 1 Row, and 1 Push-up. This is immediately followed by 2 Hip Thrusts, 2 Squats, 2 Presses, etc. This is immediately followed by 3, then 4, up to 5. If you are counting, that’s 15 of each exercise. But wait, there’s more…you then work your way back down: 4 of each, 3 of each, 2 of each, and then 1 of each. You wouldn’t believe how difficult that 1 can be at times! This is all done successively with no breaks while holding 5lb dumbbells. The goal is to increase the reps, speed, and weight over time. I also went for a 1 mile walk around our property which fits in both the Physical and Emotional category for this experiment!!
Spiritual
After exercising, I sat down on the sofa to pray the Office of Readings and Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours. I also took the time to read the readings set for Mass. One particular passage stood out to me:
“He [blind Bartimaeus] threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.” – Mark 10:50
So strong was Bartimaeus’ faith that Jesus could heal him that he threw aside his cloak. My thought was, “what if Jesus didn’t heal him? Would he be able to find his cloak again? Would someone hand it to him or help him find it? Would someone steal it while Bartimaeus was speaking to Jesus? Why throw the cloak? Why not just carry it over to where Jesus was standing?” Bartimaeus didn’t care, he didn’t think twice about his “stuff”. He only wanted to get close to Jesus. He only wanted to ask Jesus one question.
What do my questions say about me and my attachment to worldly things? What things, habits, thoughts should I willingly part with in order to get closer to Jesus? Lord, help me to throw aside all that keeps me from you! Help me to cast aside, with wild abandon, everything that holds me back. Give me the strength and courage to cry out with Bartimaeus, “Master, I want to see! (Mark 10:51)”
Emotional
Last night’s dialogue on “What are our dreams for us?” was a beautiful one. Nicole and I talked about our children, grandchildren, and hopefully, God willing, lots of other grandchildren. We talked about our dreams of growing old together and helping one another on the path to Heaven. We also talked about how life is full of good times and bad times and that the path to old age and Heaven certainly isn’t for the weak! We reflected on the bad times thus far in our marriage and how now, what seemed like unsurmountable mountains, we see as little hills that also gave us a great view of life.
After Mass we spent some time with our son, his wife, her parents, some siblings and of course our beautiful granddaughter. This was a blessing. Another son took me for a ride in his new Camero which made me instantly want to trade in my Prius!
Other great emotional events included our walk, making popcorn, and playing one of our favorite card games – Sky-jo!
Intellectual
Today was a deeper dive into St. Thomas Aquinas’ proofs or ways to prove the existence of God. As mentioned before, it’s not easy but it certainly is worth it.
As of right now, I’m in second place on my leader board for the Spanish app. I’m really enjoying the learning and practice but I doubt that I’ll ever be fluent. I read it much better than I speak it.
Today I also worked on cursive C’s with my left hand. I’m amazed at how worthless my left hand is in the area of fine motor skills. It takes so much effort and concentration to make the letters look decent. Here’s to hoping my skills and speed with this project improve.
Overall, it was a great day in all my areas of focus! How about you? Did you learn something today? Are you working on change in any area of your life? Share it in the comments and let’s get better together! Make sure to subscribe below if your interested in following along with this experiment on my life…
As is my custom with this project, the Title and Featured Image are A.I. generated. The title: not bad, short, to the point. The Image: what in the world?? I get the older guy exercising thing but at least give him a left arm! Wow, I won’t be complaining about my push-ups anymore!!
James M. Hahn, Author 