Sitting is the new Smoking

 Dear Friends

Have you heard? Sitting is the new Smoking. That phrase, which I heard recently, certainly caught my attention---Yikes! While Kathleen and I try to take two walks a day, I do spend an awful lot of time sitting and it’s not just watching TV. I sit to read. I sit to do puzzles. I sit to play games. I sit to talk on the telephone. I sit to write blogs. I sit to eat.

Last Ash Wednesday we celebrated the first, holiest and most sacred sign of spring---“Pitchers and Catchers Report”. Today is the “First Full-Squad Workout”. I often compared Lent to spring training for the soul because it coincides with spring training for baseball.

But this year, while hoping not to neglect my soul, I am also hoping to take care of my body, the temple of the Holy Spirit. I am resolving to sit less and move more. I haven’t figured it all out---maybe I can stand and stretch during every commercial. Maybe I can jump for joy after each piece or word I find in a jigsaw or crossword puzzle. Maybe I can do five sit ups every time I get the right Jeopardy answer.

In any case, I find inspiration in these hymn titles:

“Awake my soul stretch every nerve…”

“Arise ye saints of God…”

“Stand up, stand up for Jesus…”

“O Master let me walk with thee…”

“We plow the fields and scatter the good seed on the land…”

“They cast their nets on Galilee…”

“Jumping Jacks for Jesus...”

Bottom line?

Stop smoking. Don’t “sit still”. Keep on moving.

(And keep on wearing your mask!)

John