Why We Should Be Vigorously Active

1. Why We Should Be Vigorously Active

1.1 Life Is Activity

Life is characterized by activity. Death is exemplified when all activity ceases. Hence the quality of life is determined by the activity level of the organism.

1.2 Quality of Life Is Determined by Vigorousness, Intensity, and Extent of Activities Cultivated

If life is worth living, it’s worth a lot more if lived at its highest possible level. For comparison, picture a sloven hillbilly who lives a life of indolence with a bottle of whiskey as his foremost companion. On the other side of the coin, consider an engineer who has a home, a wife, and children, who plays tennis and other active games, who has cultivated many arts, appreciates great music, and is involved in guiding his children to useful and active lives. Those who care about themselves, those around them, and about the kind of world they live in are obviously the kind we admire whereas those who are making no contribution to the world are despised.

Thus you should undertake to encourage those whom you counsel to get involved in vigorous activities, especially constructive hobbies such as gardening, orcharding, flower-growing, etc., that absorb and develop a person culturally while at the same time eliciting a lot of vigorous physical activity. Physical activity is, in itself, constructive for it adds zest and quality to life as little else can. The enormous benefits outlined in this lesson will make that readily evident to you.

1.3 Fitness Essential to High-Level Health and Well-Being

While we can be fit without being healthy, we cannot be healthy without being fit. Anyone who tells you they’re healthy very likely means they’re not suffering from any prominent pathology. But, if they’re not fit, it is obvious they’re not healthy. And, as a rule, anyone who fancies him/herself as being healthy really is not. Hence it is incumbent upon you to determine the fitness and activity levels of your clients. And, likewise, to inspire your clients to undertake the activity levels necessary to achieve high-level fitness. This, in conjunction with other practices you’ll move them to undertake, will build high-level health.