BODY AND MIND

It has been only two weeks to the day since the Kaiser surgical team removed my old hip and replaced it with a new one. I walked in from the street to the orthopedics department today with only a cane in hand for a post-op session to check up on progress and remove the staples.

I'm pleased to know that I am "well ahead" of many people who have his surgery. At home, I scarcely bother with the cane, let alone the walker--which sits neglected in a corner of the bedroom. I also no longer need to take the stairs one at a time; I'm not exactly bounding up and down, but I'm amazed that my right leg can already lift my body weight and take me up the steps. I follow the regime of exercises and am delighted with the tangible growth in strength and range of movement.

Having taken reasonably good care of health and strength as I continue to age (85 in a couple of months!), I'm now more convinced than ever that it pays to take good care of this vehicle we're given to occupy for the length of our current life (I can't speak for other lives!)

The last line of the metta practice which has become an important part of my daily life is this: "May I look after myself with ease." My main fear in growing older is less the prospect of death than illness, enfeeblement, incapacity, dependence and the loss of mental acuity--and of course the indignities that accompany them. Knowing that I may yet be confronted with any of these, it's well to prepare both body and mind for them in advance.