Until recently we got all the physical activity we needed to survive. People walked a lot, they worked hard, they cut wood, gathered food, and sweated profusely to cool off, or shivered just to stay warm.

These days however, checking with a calendar to find a convenient time to squeeze in some exercise is an effort, a purposeful effort for many. Our calendars are getting bigger and busier, and our bodies are getting bigger and weaker all while we simply flip a switch to cool off or warm up or dial up a ride share.

This was all too apparent to me this week while spending time with my family at a popular Southern California resort. The name and location isn’t important. What’s most telling however, is my observation of people; close to my age, unable to freely move about without motorized assistance or rely on reasonable accommodation to enjoy themselves. There were as many baby strollers, as there were motorized chairs being used. And I was truly shocked.

Fortunately there are companies who eagerly comply with ADA regulations ensuring accessibility for all. Yet the inordinate number of people using motorized assistance was alarming. The problem is, we’re busy with other things of convenience instead of investing in our bodies in terms of muscular power, strength, coordination, flexibility and balance for the long term interest it yields, and the dividends it pays over time with longevity.

I’m not the gambling type, and if I were to wager, I’d bet at least half the people I saw, had they been more physically active over their lifetimes, would have been walking instead of riding.

This observation was more poignant than ever, because in paragraph 8 of the Week 2 reading it begins,

“We can walk at will; we can raise the arm whenever we choose to do so; we can give our attention through eye or ear to any subject at pleasure…”

Charles Haanel, The Master Key System, Part2:8.