From around the age of 11 all the way up until around age 19 - 20 I was a highly active person. I grew up in a tiny little tourist trap just outside of Zion National Park and it seemed like there wasn't a day that went by that I wasn't out doing something active. I would go swimming in the river, horseback riding, hike a random goat trail outside of zion, or hike an official trail inside the park. My best friend and I spent every minute together that we could, despite the fact that we lived more than 30 minutes away from each other through most of our childhood. Once per year we would go on a 16 mile, 3-day cattle drive on the Arizona strip, I hiked a 9.1 mile back country hike in Zion 3 times in a two week period, and I rode my bike to and from work almost every day.
This all poses the question - how does someone who was once so active become so resistant to being active? Perhaps, in large part, my inspiration to be active came from the environment that I was in, which was highly conducive and full of fun things to do, or maybe it's just me. Everything is easier when you're a kid though, isn't it? I don't just mean because you're young and spry but because it just seems like everything is more accessible to the mind of a child. If I wanted to go horseback riding when I was young all I had to do was find someone to go with me (family rule, no one rides alone), ride my bike 3 miles to the horses, feed them, catch them, saddle them up, and go. If I wanted to go hiking I just put my boots on, opened the back door, stepped outside, and found a trail. If I wanted to go swimming I walked less than a block from my house to the nearest swimming hole in the river and swam it up to my hearts content.
But as an adult everything is different. Horseback riding means making an appointment a day in advance, making sure I have the money in the budget, driving 45 minutes to get there, waiting around for another 30 minutes while everyone gets prepared and settled, and then enduring a 10 minute "riding lesson". Hiking is also a 30 drive, as is swimming but going to the lake usually requires packing a cooler and blanket, prepping the dogs, making sure we have something to give them water in, making sure we have sunblock, packing towels, etc. etc.
Has the world changed since I was young? Have I moved to a place that welcomes inactivity or, at the very least, make being active much more complicated, or have I simply changed so much that I over complicate things? Perhaps it's a little bit of everything - I think I need a vacation.
Food:
132 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1/2 breakfast burrito
1/2 serving greek salad
1 sushi hand roll
1 serving sunflower seeds
1 tbsp hummus
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Daily Caloric Intake: 834
Activity:
Cleaning: laundry, dishes, trash, clutter
4 flights of stairs
City life invites inactivity; it's part of the drawback to city life.
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That's why 60 years ago America started suburbanizing -- as a way of staying close to the city for work, but not too close.
Sadly, we've over-suburbanized and over-borrowed, forcing many of us to live more in the city than we'd like because we can no longer afford the nice suburban home or we can no longer afford the suburban-commute which has gotten so much longer than our grandparents'.
Technology is fantastic, but it too makes it harder because it's easier to sit at home and relax after work.
Age doesn't help either; a lot less hormones at 30 than you had at 15.
So, you're right: a little bit of everything.
When you were young you did not have the stress of paying bills, staying within a budget, maintaining relationships, etc. As we get older, life gets more complicated.
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