My Friend Denise

Yesterday morning while I was exercising with my friend Denise (Denise Austin--maybe you've heard of her) I had a few thoughts get their aerobic exercise running through my mind...

First, isn't it utterly amazing how our brains can be deep in thought and still control our bodies? I was thinking about something--okay I was worrying--and nothing distracts me from that--and suddenly I realized that I continued doing my exercise routine even though my mind was focused elsewhere---it was like my brain had put my body on auto-pilot. This same type of situation frequently happens while driving. I will be pondering some deep subject (like whether to have rice or pasta with dinner or what color of lipstick makes me look thinner...) and my body will keep driving--my foot will push on the accelerator and my hands will steer. The only problem is that while I am in this auto-pilot zone I will just keep going and going right past my destination. I have spent a good amount of time and gas turning around---I like to think of it as 'taking impromptu scenic tours'. Equally amazing is how we can participate in conversations while our minds are roaming far away from the topic at hand. All of this tells me that our brains are fascinating mechanisms that could only have been designed by God, that there are times when multi-tasking is potentially dangerous, and that I need to keep my mind on a shorter leash...

Another thought was how many people come in and out of our lives, some of them playing important roles, who we really don't know much about . My original OB GYN helped bring three out of four of our children into the world and helped me with various female afflictions for a period (appropriate word choice I guess) of over twenty years and I knew a little about him but not much really for knowing him so --well---intimately-- for so long...And what about the people who we only come in contact with for a brief time but who have an impact on our lives---like doctors who perform surgeries on us or who put us to sleep for those surgeries---I usually get no more info on them than their name or perhaps where they got their medical degree. I never know their favorite color or what they like on their pizza--and I put my life in their hands for a time. Then there are the strangers with whom we exchange a few words of kindness or understanding while waiting in line somewhere. They might make us laugh or teach us something new ---depending on how long the line is we might find out how many kids they have or where they live but we often part ways without exchanging names. Most of the time we don't really need or want a lot of information about people who only drop in and out of our lives and yet sometimes we realize we feel like we're missing something--or that we have come close to having something...

And then...there are all of the people who impact our lives and we never meet them face to face. Think of all the writers, artists, musicians, athletes who touch us in some way--who affect our reality---so--change it really...people who don't know of our existence. Some people who affect our lives do so by bringing fictional characters to life for an hour each week or for the time it takes a movie to play...My favorite aunt and uncle took care of my aunt's mother in her final years and she loved the show Bonanza. Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe were like family to her. My dad near the end of his life would have a hard time distinguishing between television and reality. The two would sort of blurr together (which I'm sure was a bit scary since his favorite shows were crime shows). I remember when I was young (no I am not going to confess to still doing this...) I would write myself into my favorite shows. I am sure there are lots of people who are 'on' American Idol if only while performing in front of their bathroom mirrors...All of this tells me that we need to be very careful who we associate with---this of course applies to real live people and characters who are real to us.

This all brings me back to my friend Denise Austin. She has had the difficult task of being my personal trainer for almost 30 years now. She and I are about the same age and together we have battled post-baby bulge (she has fared much better than I have) in the past and she is currently helping me wage war against all of the middle age that has settled around my middle. Denise always keeps up with the latest in Lycra/spandex fashion and her hair and make up have changed appropriately with the times. Frequently she gets a little mixed up in her directions (hey. I am doing well if I can exercise and think deep thoughts let alone do that and smile continuously and chat without ever getting out of breath) and sometimes her delivery borders on cheesy (she has unknowingly provided entertainment in the past for my kids who burst into fits of giggling watching her) I must confess that there have been several times when I have grumbled when she perkily asks, 'Doesn't that feel good?' and I have learned that she has many 'favorite' workouts and all of them cause pain---But I can't help but smile when she tells me to keep going I'm 'burning butter' and I will push through pain because I really believe I will someday obtain 'a great rear view' or 'rock hard abs'. Denise's energetic approach is contagious and she really knows her stuff. Our friendship has lasted through VHS and DVD and we have gone from fat-burning aerobics to body toning 'hit the spot' workouts to indoor walking to whole body workouts to yoga. So many shared experiences...I was thinking it might be nice to have her over for lunch---she would probably make me eat something healthy--maybe we will just continue to be exercising 'friends'.

Our minds and our bodies are indeed precious gifts... more precious than we usually take time to contemplate...

Does letting my mind wander while I exercise count as an out of body experience?