Guest Writers Blog

If you’re retired or looking forward to the time when you will be, you’ve probably said there are things you want to do “while I still have my health.” I’ve been retired for almost 12 years, and I’m still saying it. However, I recently learned that “We don’t know what we don’t know” can apply to the degree of physical health and stamina we still have, as well as to our mental abilities, especially when it comes to international travel.

There’s no shortage of positive thinking theories out there, but the one that has resonated with me comes from—no surprise—Brian Clark’s newsletter Further. In his July 6 newsletter, he writes “Positive beliefs can spark a placebo effect that helps us succeed. Conversely, negative beliefs and the accompanying thoughts can keep us “in our heads” and away from a state of optimal performance.”

I spend too much time on my computer. My wife tells me that and she’s right. As a freelance writer, I have to use my computer to get my work done. I choose to do more than half of it in a coffee shop. I don’t like sitting at home, either in my office or at the kitchen table, which is next to a picture window that affords me a view of the entire Salt Lake Valley.

With warmer weather and dry roads springing up everywhere, I’m seeing a ton of people out on bikes. It’s great. I’m a cyclist from way back. I was able to keep riding even after breaking my neck. There’s nothing better than spinning along the road on two wheels—or heading up a mountain trail, if you have the strength and balance. The scenery, the wind in the face, the endorphins are all to be enjoyed.

When Abraham Lincoln laughed at something during the Civil War, he is rumored to have been criticized for it, and in response he said, “If I didn’t laugh, I would surely cry.” Those of you who are caregivers, either professionally or for a loved one, know that can be true of us, too. If we only see the serious side of things, what is happening can sometimes seem unbearable.