Taking It For Granted

Growing up, our family always parked our vehicles in a carport built off the side of our home.  A carport is like a garage without walls.  There was a roof over the cars to protect them from the elements and a concrete slab for the cars to rest upon when they were not in use.  A few stairs came down from the porch of our house toward the carport and our family’s means of transportation. 

Each and every day in grade school, I would run out the door and leap off the top of the 3 stairs leading down to the carport.  Each time I jumped I braced myself against the window of our car when I landed.  This was a quick thrill for me.  The joy of careening through the air for a brief moment before landing with arms outstretched against the car window was something I became accustomed to.  I took for granted that my little moment of fun would bear me no harm.  This all changed one day when I was in the 5^th grade.

Following my normal routine, I got ready in the house, exited the front door, got a running start across the porch toward the carport and launched myself into the air toward the car.  In an instant, I knew something was wrong.  Up to this point, the window of the vehicle had always been up.  I took it for granted that the window would always be up.  After all, I had heard my mother make the request a thousand times to put up the window.  On that day, as I soared through the air I realized that the car window had been left down.  I contorted my body as best I could to avoid hitting the car, but there is no use in backpedaling when you are in mid-air. 

My hands and arms entered the car.  The rest of my body did not.  My skull crashed into the frame of the vehicle above the empty window space.  I collapsed to the ground in a heap, sure that I was going to die from the impact.  What actually resulted was a lump just over my eye that eventually became my first black eye.  At school, friends and teachers asked how I received my first shiner.  I told them that I got into a fight.  I conveniently left out the detail that this fight was with my mother’s 1986 Pontiac. 

Many of us often find ourselves in the same life situation I did when I was in 5^th grade.  We are going along just fine, doing what we always do, taking for granted the things that have always been in place.  Then, in a single instant we realize we have taken something for granted, believing it would always be there.  By the time we realize it has been removed, it is too late.  There is no way to turn back time, reverse decisions, or change your mind before you come face to face with the outcome you set your life toward.  This scenario is particularly true with our health.

I will never forget having a conversation with a man who was entering his retirement years.  He told me about the many things he had to look forward to.  This would all be possible because he said, “I have my health.  I’ve got a good, strong heart.”  Less than two years later he had a massive heart attack.  He took his health for granted. 

I find myself in that place many times as well.  It is easy to take our health and well being for granted and to not be proactive in developing a healthier lifestyle.  However, when we take our health for granted we will be surely surprised when it is taken away.  While we cannot plan for all the scenarios that may affect our health, but we can certainly be proactive in the things we can control. 

Being healthy requires being proactive in diet, exercise, and awareness.  We do not naturally drift toward better health.  We cannot take it for granted.  We have to take conscious steps to improve our health continually in each stage of our lives.  Put another way, if you are not taking steps toward a healthier you, then you are slowly shifting to un-health.  Don’t take your health for granted!  What proactive steps can you take toward improving your overall fitness?