Why?

I took a journalism class in high school.  I don’t recall anything about it but this: who, what, when, where, why and how.  We called this the “five w’s and the h”.  Google says this.

• Who? – asking about a person
• What? – asking about an object
• When? – asking about a time
• Where? – asking about a place
• Why? – asking about a reason

The How is equally important as it’s the investigative driver.  You know, how something happened.

I think the tough one is why.  People, places and things are relatively easy to recognize.  Why is the reason, and sometimes reasons are difficult to identify.

We were talking about why in my cardio rehab class this week.  The driving question is ,,, why are you taking this class?

The half dozen participants didn’t discuss our answers, but I think we all agree that we want to live longer.  Heart disease is a scary thing.  Funny, that’s the first time I’ve written those words.  Heart disease.  I’ve never said them out loud either, but they are a true description of where I am.  My heart is damaged because of poor decisions I’ve made over the years.  Most are associated with a lack of exercise and a poor diet.  I thought I was invincible. Now I know I’m not. The other thing I’ve learned is that even if you do your best, bad things can happen.

I’ve lost several people who ignored the warnings they received.  It’s because of them that I’m not ignoring mine.  The two most important were my best friend, Jim, and my wife, Ruth.  Jim had a heart attack on his sixty-fifth birthday.  He thought he had indigestion the night before he died.  I’ve wondered if he sought medical attention if he’d still be here.  He didn’t and he’s not.

Ruth received warning after warning over multiple years.  She ignored them all. Several doctors told her to change her habits.  She’d comply for a few days and then fall back to the old.  One day her heart just gave out. She went away for the day, and she didn’t come home.

I think of those two every day.

While playing golf last March, I got light-headed on the golf course.  I ignored the first because I thought it was a result of my shoulder replacement surgery.  When it happened again a couple of days later, I decided to get checked out.  I had a cardiologist because of last September’s surgery. He had checked me out the previous May and said I was good to go.

When I met with him this spring, he asked a ton of questions, ordered several tests, reviewed them with me and suggested that I have a heart catheterization.  He told me I was a candidate for a heart attack or stroke within the next ten years.  I didn’t like the sound of that, so I told him to move forward.  During the procedure he found a couple of narrowed spots in my heart and inserted two stents.  After that I started taking several daily pills and he suggested cardio rehab.  I started my rehab a couple months ago and I’ve got another month to go.

My why is simply this.  I want to live longer.  I hope by paying attention, and following through, I’ll accomplish that goal.  I’ve written before that I made a deal with my mom during a conversation on her eighty-eighth birthday. If she lived longer than her dad, I’d live longer than her.  She followed through so I’ve got at least another sixteen years to go.  A deal is a deal.  If I’m going to make that, I’ve got to be a better version of me.

And then there’s my friend Ed.  He’s 107.  I’ve written about him several times.  I made this observation in a story about him a couple years ago.  I believe he’s lived by these principles, and I’m trying to do the same.

1. Love.   Share your time on earth.  You don’t have to marry, but have someone to share your time, encourage your goals, listen to your thoughts, and set you straight when you veer off path.
2. Take care of yourself.  Value your health.  Avoid excess.
3. Believe in something bigger than yourself.  Be religious if that’s a path you choose, but in any case, make sure that you know that there is something more important than each of us, alone.
4. Work.  Be engaged in something that helps you find purpose.  If your first choice doesn’t work out, find another.  Each of us needs to have a reason to get up each morning.  Make sure that you have something to look forward to doing each day.
5. Hang with people younger than you at least some of the time. Share your experience.  Don’t be afraid to share your failures as well as your triumphs.
6. Laugh.   Belly laughs are preferred.
7. Belong.  Be an active part of a community.  It may be church, your neighbors, people at work, your school, a team, a club or your family.   Each of us needs to engage with others that share a common bond.
8. Play.  Have fun and share your experience with others.
9. Sing and dance even if you only sing in the shower and tap your foot to music while sitting in a chair.  It’s good for the soul.
10. Don’t keep score.  If someone does you wrong, move on.  Be the bigger man (or woman).  You’ll waste a lot of time that you could be loving, caring, believing, working, hanging, laughing, belonging, playing, singing and dancing.

I’ve not done a very good job but I’m doing better. I set a course several months ago and I’m making a bit of progress each day. I’m taking baby steps forward. I want to keep on keepin on.  That’s my why.