Have you ever had your ego get into an argument with your body? I suspect that if you are older than 50 it happens all the time, I'm older than 60, and my body is fully aware of my age.

However, my mind still thinks my body can do the same things it did when it was 35. That's the argument between the mind and the body. Let me assure you, the body always wins.
 
I can attest to that because it's happened to me several times. Let me share one of those stories. First of all, without sounding boastful, I used to be very athletic. I was a boxer in my teens, wrestled varsity and went to state my junior year in high school, played varsity baseball, and after high school I was pretty good at softball, and actually played in an adult soccer league until I was 42 years old. I also became a decent tennis player.
 
But I'm not 42 anymore in spite of what my mind thinks. In this instance, my neighbor suggested I join him and several other friends in a pickle ball tournament. I had never heard of pickle ball until I moved to Florida. I figured it couldn't be too hard since the majority of people playing it are senior citizens. In fact, the majority of people in Florida are senior citizens, and it's legal to carry a concealed weapon. But that's a different story.
 
Anyway, I had learned to play pickle ball with Tracy and some other friends as mixed doubles. Most games are played strictly as doubles with two people on each side of the net. It gets pretty crowed and the action is fast.
 
Little did I know that the speed of tournament play with men against men (in spite of their age) was three times faster. And that stupid little plastic ball really hurts if it hits you on a line drive (this is how the majority of returns crossed the net). I teamed up with my neighbor and due to his skills (not mine), we made it to the quarter finals after playing eight games. I was exhausted. The more we advanced, the better the competition and the faster the ball sped across the net.
 
I made it through two more games before we were eliminated. (I was happy as I probably couldn't have played one more game. I could barely lift the paddle.) We didn't win, but we didn't embarrass ourselves either.

In fact, I personally took home several trophies as a reminder that my body knows better than my mind. I came home with a welt on my chest with the impression of three of the holes in the whiffle ball, a sore right wrist, a left shoulder that hurt so bad it felt like I had been playing nose tackle for the Green Bay Packers, a bruise the size of a lemon on the inside of my left thigh and my legs felt so ripped that I thought I might have trouble ever walking upright again.
 
The next morning, Tracy had to actually help me out of bed. After about two hours I finally loosened up a little and could get around on my own. As I went down the driveway to get our newspaper I could see my neighbor, who is at least five years older than me, out cutting his grass as if not one muscle in his body ached. It was discouraging to see the smile on his face while I grimaced with pain as I made my way back up the driveway.
 
Three days after this incident occurred and with and ice pack on my left shoulder, I wrote this story. Based on this experience, I want to encourage you to trust your body whenever your mind and ego try to argue with it. Your body knows more about how it will react to any type of physical activity than your mind does.

After all, I really don't think your mind believes that your body changes at all once you pass 30. Mine obviously doesn't. Mine still kept telling me that I could do the same physical things I could do 30years ago in spite a bruise on my thigh, a welt on my chest, an ice pack on my shoulder, and the difficulty I experienced trying to get out of a stupid, Lazy Boy rocker.
 
Hope you enjoy this month's Howl. Pass it on……
 
Computer Prayer – author unknown
 
Every single evening
As I'm lying here in bed,
This tiny little Prayer
Keeps running through my head:
 
God bless all my family And Friends
Wherever they may be,
Keep them warm
And safe from harm
For they're so close to me.
 
And God, there is one more thing
I wish that you could do;
Hope you don't mind me asking,
Please bless my computer too.
 
Now I know that it's unusual
To Bless a motherboard,
But listen just a second
While I explain it to you, Lord.
 
You see, that little metal box
Holds more than odds and ends;
Inside those small compartments
Rest so many of my friends.
 
I know so much about them
By the kindness that they give,
And this little scrap of metal
Takes me in to where they live.
 
By faith is how I know them
Much the same as you.
We share in what life brings us
And from that our friendships grew.
 
Please take an extra minute
From your duties up above,
To bless those in my address book
That's filled with so much love.
 
Wherever else this prayer may reach
To each and every friend,
Bless each e-mail inbox
And each person who hits 'send'.
 
When you update your Heavenly list
On your own Great CD-ROM,
Bless everyone who says this prayer
Sent up to GOD.Com
 
Amen