"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware." Martin Buber
A few years ago, I saw an interview with the extraordinary entertainer, Dick van Dyke, now 100 years old, when he was asked the secret to his clarity, vigor, and energy at age 90-something..
"Always take the stairs," he said.
I always take the stairs.
The technology is in place that, except for a short flight in my own house, I almost never have to walk up stairs. In most airports, even the flat corridors frequently have moving walkways.
In fact, I often have to go out of my way to step out of the flow of traffic in order to move toward the stairs alongside the escalators. I haven't found any buildings with elevators that don't have stairs, mostly intended for emergency evacuation and not showcased for daily use. Those stairways often don't exactly feel welcoming.
What's more interesting to me is that I'm authentically elderly and wear orthopedic shoes for my somewhat crippled ankles; and, nonetheless, pass the people riding the escalator next to me as I walk up the stairs.
I'm not anti-tech. Stairs are technologies. Beyond that, I even have a sonic toothbrush. Nonetheless part of health maintenance requires my body to be used and challenged to just below the risk of injury. Stairs offer that opportunity.
My advice to maintain mental clarity, vigor, and energy?
Always start with a blank page.
Here are some circuit-training exercises for a blank page
Openness Beginning stretches are wonder and why.
Discernment Is this interesting, valuable, or useful?,
Interpretation How do I explain it? What does it mean?
Evaluation Is there harm? Is there benefit?
Then the heavy lifting comes with dialectical thinking. Two things can be true and contradictory. How do I (or we) resolve this dissonance?
It's easier, no doubt, to get a technological lift to our thinking. It's now as routine as escalators to get a technological lift up to another level.
What if you put a blank page in front of you? Would you arrive at a secret destination?
Warm regards,
Francis Sopper