Running and Rowimg
Column February 2007 Thursday 15 February 2007 As age started to become noticeable I couldn’t jump out of bed as flexibly as I used to and, therefore, I thought I should start moving around a bit more. I decided on rowing, because the guy at the sport store had said that a rowing machine would be a very good choice since it works out almost all your muscles.So now I row almost every morning in one of our small attic rooms. I am not moving a meter forward or backward, but it feels good to move. I have gained a better understanding of the runners I regularly see in our neighborhood, jogging at a steady pace with their eyes at the horizon. “What do you think about when you are running?” I recently asked one of them. He couldn’t give me a clear answer. The first part is just fun, he said, but then the pain starts, especially in the legs. Afterwards comes the flow, my runner acquaintance said. Wikipedia (the free encyclopedia on the internet) mentions that “flow” refers to a mental state where a person is completely engrossed in an activity. “Flow” is characterized by energy and activity that is focused on specific actions, complete involvement, and the successful execution of those activities. The most important theorist behind this concept is the American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Flow is good, flow provides feelings of happiness and, because one is so pleasantly occupied, one loses all sense of time and forgets about oneself. Flow is wonderful! Wouldn’t it be great if one could work on the job in a way where one would have that feeling of flow every day? Wouldn’t that be good and productive for the company! Yes, I do know “flow”, because I experience it sometimes when I write or sing.
Since my runner acquaintance said that he gets that feeling every time he runs I had hoped to experience it while rowing. So far that hasn’t happened and, to be honest, I’m bored when I am rowing. I row like a maniac while looking around the little attic room. It used to be the bedroom of one of our sons and there still are some reminders. For example, there are picture postcards on the wall that friends sent from sunny vacation resorts. Cards with pictures of topless young ladies who seem to look at me with pity and say “go ahead, knock yourself out”. No, I’m not jealous of those ladies – they are quite beautiful - but they do look as if they have undergone some reconstruction. However young and tight-skinned they may appear to be, the fact that gravity has entirely no effect on certain voluptuous body parts tells me enough: silicon, and a quite generous amount, too. Already, they are no longer authentic and, one day, age will start to count, too, and then they may have to walk around for many years with a sagging body. We do get quite old nowadays, science tells us. A while ago, we went to a seminar on aging in our present time. The speaker was ethics professor Frits de Lange. “Are these scientific studies correct?” asked Mr. de Lange. “When you read obituaries it seems that people are dying younger these days.” How true are these scientific findings? If they are correct and we should all live to an old age, it could cause an enormous problem. Even if we can remain fit and vital longer than before, eventually we will become creaky and, given the sheer number of elderly people, that will cost society loads of money. Now that fewer children are being born there may be a shortage of caregivers as well. It is a doom scenario. Especially since more and more people will need care. Already, it is evident in psycho-geriatric nursing homes that a larger number of younger people are being admitted and, unfortunately, more Korsakov patients (alcoholics) as well. Because of the current levels of alcohol consumption there probably will be even more Korsakov patients in the future. Not something to cheer about.
Meanwhile, the large wave of grey is on its way and how can we grow old gracefully? The hall was filled to capacity with grey-haired heads during the seminar of Frits de Lange but, in my opinion, most of them did not experience being old as punishment. Age brings wisdom, too, the professor said. An elderly woman immediately responded that that might be so, but that wisdom is really only the sum of stupidities from your youth. “Allow youth its stupidities,” she said, “for wisdom will be its reward.” There is some truth to that. You rush through life, falling down and getting up repeatedly, making the most stupid mistakes but, hopefully, you’ll learn from them. You can go through the deepest valleys, but I know a poem with the title: “It’s in the valleys I grow”, and that’s how it is. Aging well, according to the professor, is maintaining your sense of humor and not worrying too much. Apart from diseases, I’d like to add that in my opinion it is very good to have hobbies and to do things you really enjoy. Be busy and try to experience “flow” once in a while. Try to keep your mind and body flexible. Running and rowing isn’t necessary, but exercise helps you to jump out of bed flexibly in the morning and start your day happy. Aging doesn’t need to be punishment, but may be a beautiful present and we are the only ones who can offer this gift to ourselves.
Text: Dini Commandeur, Translation: Maria O’Neill