Weekly Bread #251

“Don’t sweat it.” It is something people tell you. No worries, it’s OK. Don’t stress.

But that isn’t always good advice. Sometimes you need to sweat, and not just when hiking. I ALWAYS sweat when hiking, even on cool days, which is partly why hydration is important even if you don’t feel particularly hot or thirsty. But sweating doesn’t have to mean stressing. It is simply how our bodies regulate our temperature, working like elegant swamp coolers using evaporation to cool down.

I try not to stress or worry too much. Sometimes I am fairly successful. I am not stressed about the fact that my hiking hat is shredding, for instance. It still works, but I did order a new one from REI as a Christmas present to myself. I have the ability, the privilege, to indulge myself that way. I am also getting new hiking gloves, because, yeah, my old ones have holes. There is actually something awesome about wearing hiking gear out. I mainly shop at REI so my gear tends to be fairly sturdy stuff if not excessively high end, so it takes some effort to wear it out. Some sweat I guess, which also means work. When our bodies are working hard, they sweat, and I do believe that working hard is good for us.

The easy stuff is often just too easy. Living in a bubble, only talking to people who agree with you, who are like you, just zoning out isn’t likely to cause you to work up into an emotional sweat. I get it. Being engaged with the world in these crazy times isn’t easy to handle. Sometimes you do need to take a few “zero” days to recover. But you get to the top of a hill and see a new vista, a wider perspective , a possible way forward toward peace and justice, if you don’t put some energy into it.

No sweat? It is kind of like not being alive – no sweat, no change, no movement, and no growth.

So, yes, let’s sweat!” And please remember to drink a lot of water. Heat stoke can be deadly.

L’Chaim!

Average weight this week was up 1.3 pounds for a total loss of 139.1