Body, Mind & Spirit (Part 1)

Photo #1

Photo Title: Portrait at Fifty

Photo was taken to: a) demonstrate the interplay of sunlight and shadow b) serve as a teaser for other sharper images yet to come c) model the bodybuilding posing trunks in the Arnold Schwarzenneger-Gloria Vanderbilt signature collection.

Photo by: LTO, Logan Todd Outcalt

Caption: "Dad, how many of these stupid photos do I have to take?"

Inspiration (N): Definition . . .

Okay, let's begin. I'm not writing a dictionary definition here, because inspiration is not something you can gain from reading a definition. Inspiration is something one must live . . . and live out. Nevertheless, my idea of inspiration is simple. Inspiration means, literally, "the Spirit is in it". Which means that inspiration is wherever and whenever we find the Spirit in something. Now, in my life, I have always found the Spirit in faithful people, in family, and in reading and writing. I've also found the Spirit in a set of weights, in a towel soaked in sweat, and in overcoming heavy obstacles. Inspiration, for me, has always been found in accomplishing a goal that few people would even attempt. I find inspiration in the gym every day--in the faces of older folks who arrive at the gym walking by cane, or who work their bodies because they want to remain independent. I also find inspiration in the younger people at the gym who ask me, "How did you get this way, and how can I get it?" But my answer is simple . . . if you don't find the Spirit in the intensity of the training and the lifestyle, you'd better find the Spirit in something else, otherwise, you're wasting your time.

You see, not everyone is going to find the Spirit (or be "in-spired") by hunkering down at the gym for forty years. Some might find the Spirit in bowling, or running, or tennis. I find the Spirit in none of these things . . . just boredom.

For the past forty-plus years I've operated with a theology of Body, Mind & Spirit that has guided my life down to the core. Every day I attempt to improve myself in terms of physical strength and stamina, in mental preparedness and learning, and in growth of faith, faithfulness, or service to others. It's simple. But it works for me.

Many people have asked me in this latest quest to achieve my "best" at fifty: "WHY?" Why would you undertake such a severe training regimen, such a severe diet? Why would you stretch yourself toward a goal of bettering your 40-year old condition? After all, you ain't forty any more.

My answer: because I have always trained with the same regimen of intensity, because I have always maintained a diet (to gain or lose) and because this goal at fifty is a goal I set for myself when I was twenty, when I was thirty, and when I was forty. I'm here now, but fifty just presented the reality that I would have to put up or shut up. Regardless of the bad knees, the bad back, and the torn rotator cuff . . . it was a goal I was after.

In actuality, I'm not sure I bested my 40-year-old condition. I'm certainly not as muscular as I was at forty, but then, I have less testosterone now. Still, I'm awfully darn close, as you might agree with based on the forthcoming photos.

But here's to Body, Mind & Spirit. Here's to setting goals and living them out. Here's to IN-Spiration. And if you haven't found your inspiration yet . . . what's holding you back? Better get living it . . . and living it out. Believe me, you ain't gettin' any younger either! And you'll be surprised what your mind and your spirit will enable you to accomplish in body if you'll just get jiggy wid 'it!