Gradually and Suddenly

Categories: Blog Aug 09, 2021

Have you ever noticed that some things happen both gradually and suddenly? Health is a great example. Whether we lose it or we gain it, it is often a gradual process that we notice quite suddenly. Success could be another example. What we often see as sudden success is often the result of a gradual process of applying diligence and effort towards a goal. 

 

Gradually and suddenly - the paradox of time and perception in the awareness of our reality. 

 

And that’s how gradual things, like losing health, seem to happen suddenly: awareness. Or lack of awareness, really. 

 

It is through years of building and maintaining habits that do not support optimal health that our health gradually declines. It is through awareness that one “wakes up” and finds themselves suddenly “out of shape”, overweight, or old. 

 

I was actually being a little kind there. It is often the years of neglect (the habit of neglect) that  whittles away our health, our strength, and our vitality. When we become aware of this, it seems to have happened all of a sudden. 

 

Naturally, we blame time, our genetics, our job, or our circumstances for how we got this way. Or maybe we blame the “natural” rhythms of life. After all, things break down with age, it’s the gradual decline of things. 

 

But I’m not sure. I think the real culprit for gradual decline is simply neglect. And, if this is the case, the real cause for gradual decline is ourselves. We are to blame. 

 

And that’s actually good news. 

 

We can’t stop time from ticking along, and we have very little control of all things that happen outside of ourselves. But if we are the ones to blame for the decline in our health, then we can also be the ones to champion for the incline, the restoration, of our health. 

 

We can get “in shape,” we can achieve our body’s optimal weight, we can reverse the effects of aging, we can get strong, and we can heal. 

 

We can. 

 

I won’t lie, it’s going to be a gradual process. But if we start, if we persist, if we are aware and attend to our minds, our emotions, and our bodies as we should, we can restore ourselves and live in optimal health, we can lead wonderful lives full of vitality. 

 

And then, suddenly, as if by a magic bending of time, we will find ourselves stronger, younger, and healthier. 

 

It is through moving every day as children that we gradually built our nervous systems, our bodies, and ourselves. It was a gradual process of showing up every day and attending to our design. It is also through movement, through showing up every day, like we did when we were younger, that we can once again gradually rebuild our nervous systems, our bodies, and ourselves. It is through intentionally attending to our design, through being kind to ourselves, through NOT neglecting ourselves, that we can enjoy our best lives possible. 

 

Yes, daily movement, daily walks, daily reset sessions, daily smiles, and daily engagement with others is being kind to ourselves. It is how we grow and repair. It is how we protect and prevent. It is through the gradual process of showing up and engaging in our design (this is being kind to ourselves) that we become suddenly able to express our true vitality. 

 

Move yourself every day, and often throughout the day. Don’t let neglect and unawareness whittle away your health or the life you want to have. Make the movements, the actions, you need to make. Put them in process. Don’t dream about how you used to be or how you want to be, move yourself towards what you want. Live your best life, gradually and suddenly. 

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