As I got older, and I do mean older, (hit the big Hawaii 5-0 a few years back) I can totally understand now why after sitting a good length of time, stretching is very beneficial to these vintage muscles. It wakes them up… it allows blood to flow… it stimulates oxygen to all parts of my body… So, I now stretch at other times other than the seventh inning at a baseball game. I’ve learned a bit of yoga, Pilates, etc., all of which have been instrumental in awakening these stubborn muscles of mine that really need to be more flexible. After all, I have a lot of shopping and running after grandkids left to do! Not to mention dancing!
I’ve also learned that perhaps in this seventh inning of my life, I could do some other stretches. Is my life really where I want it to be? Now that the kids are grown and mostly gone, are my curiosity muscles still as flexible as they used to be? Is a quick glance at the latest Time or People magazine the extent of my continued education these days? How about my personal relationships? Could they use a bit of oxygen to get some more flow of love and affection moving?
With my physical body, when I learn a new stretch… I’m a bit nervous… sometimes even afraid.. that I will do damage or hurt myself in some way. So what I know now is that if I do a stretch slowly and really carefully listen to my body, the next time I do that stretch, it isn’t as difficult, in fact my body allows me to stretch further.
And so is the case with my personal stretching. Maybe I won’t go back to school and take a full load of classes… yet can I sign up for one class? Just to see how it might feel? Hmmm, that feels like a stretch… a bit scary, yet do-able. If I like it, maybe next semester I just might take two… or not… How would connecting with some old friends in a more loving way seem? Am I willing to see them in a different light? That would definitely be a stretch… yet, would that breathe some life into that relationship? OK, so maybe I will start with a nice card… for no particular reason. Baby stretch.
That seventh inning stretch at a baseball game invigorates us. It allows for a renewed enthusiasm for the rest of the game. And who knows how long that rest of the game can go… ties can go into inning after inning… so to have had that stop, that standing, that stretching, that reassessing of your vantage point, makes the rest of the game so much more fun.
How do you want to see the rest of your game?
