On Being Active

I was in the process of deleting some of my old bookmarked web pages when I came across this article, which gives a brief account of the passing of the then oldest living man—Walter Breuning—who was 114 and 205 days at the time of his death in April 2011. What stood out to me was that Breuning seems to credit his longevity to staying active, stating: “Everybody says your mind is the most important thing about your body. Your mind and your body. You keep both busy, and by God you’ll be here a long time.”

Perhaps you too have noticed that those who live a long time—aside from generally having good genetics—always tend to keep themselves busy. They always seem to be in the process of doing something. You don't find them sitting alone in a room staring out a window for hours on end. You don't find them enjoying a daily TV-induced coma. What you do find is a person engaged in some form of activity. Be it reading or writing, or working on hobbies, or participating in social activities or ministries, or cooking or crocheting. You find a person engaged, not idle.

I have often wondered about people who fantasize about “doing nothing.” Are they serious? Do they really want to do nothing? Sometimes I find myself wishing I was doing something other-than whatever I happen to be doing, but surely I want to be doing something as opposed to doing nothing. It seems that life and activity are inextricably related. Be active—live. Do nothing—die.