“If you want to think new thoughts, then read new things, meet new people, and go new places.”

A thought by Mark Batterson (2009-12-09) in his book, Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity (Kindle Locations 1818-1819). Multnomah Books. Kindle Edition.

It is so easy in life to get in a rut. Get up the same time every day, eat the same thing for breakfast, go the same route to work, come home and watch the same TV shows, go to bed so you can get up at the same time to do the same thing. We even go to the same place for our vacation.

That may be OK for you but there is more to life for me than being in a rut or as one guy said, “in a grave with the ends knocked out”.

I saw yesterday at lunch on the Planet Green - Discovery Channel, Discovering Yellowstone with Tom Brokaw. I watched one segment where 71 year old, Brokaw and two Forrest Rangers took all day to find a water fall. I said to my wife, Margaret that I think I could do that now. I could hike all day. It would be tough for me at 64 but I think I could do it.

Back 2 years ago when I retired and moved to Long Island here in New York I weighed 260 lb. and could walk for maybe 10 minutes. I was becoming an invalid. I would go every morning to Starbucks and read two newspapers and sit and talk to my friends for 2 ½ hours. That’s what I did. I was in a rut until one day after reading this quote I decided that I needed to do something different. So instead of 2 ½ hours I spend 45 minutes and then head out to walk for 4-5 miles 6 day a week. I weighed 222 lb. this morning. It is slow but I am headed in the right direction. I am going to lose the other 22 lb. and more by Thanksgiving. But I wasn’t going to lose 60 lb. or walk 25 + miles a week by doing what I was doing.

I also asked my family to buy me a Kindle for Christmas and they did. I have 20 books on it right now. I have read 10 of them and I’m in the middle of reading 9 more right now. This blog that I started writing a month ago came about because of that change.

So what new thoughts do you need to think? What new books do you need to read and what new people do you need to meet? By the way, we are also moving to Florida at the end of this year. Did I tell you that I’m 64 and I’m no longer in a rut?

So what about you?

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