Low Powered Adjustments

Paul Reps once told me, “Watch a cat or a child make low power adjustments to conserve and boost energy.”

This morning, the second of my days off I woke to face the litany of tasks that I had promised myself to finish and after several trips out and back home, I was starting to feel pretty tired.

I had already walked several miles, slowly, methodically doing my self-appointed errands and finally, walked back up to Shopper’s to check my blood pressure. Yep! There it was again, despite almost completing the course of my current meds, still over the top and in the red zone.

I had been feeling very shaky and tired all morning and just wanted to go home and lie down, but once there, dragging myself in the door, I recalled that line by Reps.

It was not a beautiful sunshiny summery day, but it was pleasantly cool and slightly cloudy and it was only just coming up to 3 p.m.

So I put on my jacket and headed back down to the seawall, intent on one more walk but it would not be a leisurely stroll today. I needed a boost and so I was going to pick up the pace. Just slightly!

The moment I walked outside I consciously put that extra ounce of oomph into my step and posture, swinging my arms and walking just close to quickly, but not really quickly.

The first 10 minutes was rough going, as I wanted to turn around and go back home but I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and within 20 minutes, I was headed east along the seawall, then back again under the Burrard Street Bridge to 2nd Beach, half way there, and with a pleasant tingling sensation in my body and a smile lighting up my face.

There is a local resident I pass on a regular basis who usually has a scowl on his face when I say hello, and grudgingly returns my greeting. (He returns a kind of grunt, giving me the impression that he is fed up with my greetings.)

But today, I saw him coming my way and instead of avoiding eye contact I threw out a hearty, “How are ya?” from a fair distance and to my shock, he looked at me, our eyes met briefly and the beginnings of a smile flickered over his face as he responded, “Fine, and you?”

“Good”, I replied and felt good as I passed him thinking wonders will never cease.

By the time I got home, my jacket was around my waist and I was sweating a bit and feeling lots of energy.

The intent, or so it seems, is everything!