Life is a Crap Shoot

The biggest thing I gained from Dr. Andrew Weil's book "Spontaneous Happiness" is learning meditation skills that will get me back from emotional turmoil to my emotional set point the quickest. It's all part of my Even-Steven Philosophy. If something bad happens, I believe something equally good will happen, balancing everything out. For example, in 2005 I was diagnosed with the chronic ailment neurogenic bladder. Having to catherize four times a day helped me to better understand the challenges my first wife Tina faced dealing with diabetes since the age of 2. Today, after an operation, I catherize twice a day. It's not fun. But life is more manageable, and it doesn't stop me from taking big kedging trips like the bicycle ascent of 10,945-foot Beartooth Pass on the Wyoming-Montana border northeast of Yellowstone National Park.

Having neurogenic bladder also made me more open to take on the challenges of the "Younger Next Year" program when my mom, who normally gives me religious gifts, gave me the evolutionary and revolutionary book as a 52nd birthday present in 2009. I wanted to do everything I could to stay as healthy as possible. I wanted to offset some of the inevitable challenges of neurogenic bladder and to be strong, sharp and clear.

When I lost Tina to complications of diabetes in 2007, when she was 48 and I was 50, I was devastated. Never had I gone through anything so painful as that grief. Yet deep down I knew that if I eventually got myself back to my emotional set point something good would happen. That something turned out to be meeting Teri in the fall of 2008. I had always had some dedication to physical fitness, but I had never pursued nutrition and built those skills. Teri changed that focus for me, and for that I will always be grateful. She also gave me reason to laugh and feel joy again, and another reason to work out regularly and take good care of my body.

Teri and I were married on 9-10-11. Having both lost parents at early ages to forms of cancer, we know that life is a crap shoot. There are no guarantees. But with each other's help and encouragement, through good nutrition and regular exercise, through regular contact with other people, we can grow stronger. I like to think of the Younger Next Year program as giving me the best chance at a life of both quality and quantity. And it makes me mentally stronger so I can get back to my emotional set point quicker when the inevitable turmoils of life stir the waters.