CONNECT: May 22, 2015

It takes no more than a moment

Spoiler Summary:  Pause and reflect - thank you.

Life moves fast. Blink for just a second too long and you find yourself asking the child that you could swear you was just learning to walk, what they want to be when they grow up. Look away for another second and the people you were working alongside yesterday are telling you about what retirement is like and how even though they hate "getting old" it's not all bad. It seems like the clock just keeps spinning faster and the memories pile up fast.

Over the last few weeks I've been writing about some of the risks we all face from an injury/illness and "movement disorder" standpoint.  We've talked about the neck as well as the upper and lower back....and until a few minutes ago I had planned on moving on to the next area; not skipping a beat.....but then I started thinking about it and realized maybe the most important and compelling health &prevention topic that I could write about this week had very little to do with the shoulder....maybe the most important and compelling health & prevention topic I could write about was gratitude.

It's true, there is a growing body of evidence from places like the University of California, University of Miami and University of Pennsylvania that shows the impressive power of thankfulness and the value of practicing it regularly. The action, literally of giving thanks, has been shown to be extremely healthy for each of us and the effect spills over to the people around us.  

And so, this week, I'm suggesting a totally different set of exercises than I might normally.  They probably won't make your shoulder range of motion improve, but they have the power to do a world of good.  In the spirit of memorial day, please consider saying thank you.

That's it, just as simple as it sounds. Take a minute on this holiday to really say thanks.

It might be in the form of a letter that never actually gets sent.  It might just be a mental thank you to someone you've never met.  Or it might be taking a second with your family to think about how different things could be if there wasn't anyone to thank in this particular situation.  So, amid the noise about the unofficial start of summer or in the middle of the yard work (or any other number of activities planned), I hope you'll take a minute to pause and say a genuine thank you.

• Life is not always easy; sometimes it's hard to keep up....and yet, we are free to live it anyway.  
• We have our challenges; every single one of us....and yet, we have the liberty to try to overcome them.  
• We are not always happy....and yet, we still have the right to pursue it nonetheless....building our own pile of memories while indebted to those who sacrificed theirs.

To the family and friends of those who have fallen, on behalf of my team -- we remember and we thank you.

- Mike E.