My mom was a very wise and practical woman. I feel like she missed passing on a whole chunk of her most useful genes to me.
She was always very sensible in her approach to most things in life. I never saw her lose her cool, behave hysterically, or otherwise lose her composure under any circumstance.
She had several gems of advice. I love them all and have begun to value them more and more with each passing year. I’ll share one of them here.
Get up and walk around!
That was and continues to be such an oft-repeated sentence between my husband, my kid, and me. Mom passed on almost 4 years ago, but this gem still echoes in our home.
What it means
She always said this in the context of illness or perceived illness. She believed that if we moved around and went about our chores, any illness trying to make its home inside us would give up and flee.
She went through her entire life with this firm belief. She lived 81 healthy years. She must have been right. For all of those years, I rarely saw her being sloppy or lethargic. Even during her last year, when she was pretty ill, she did her best to stay active. On days that she felt slightly better, she would be up and about trying to help around the house.
‘Be active and keep your hands and legs engaged as much as possible’ was her mantra. I often told her to rest and cut down on household chores. But she argued that if she had to stay healthy, she had to keep her muscles occupied. And if she could, she would!
While she used common terms and said it matter-of-factly, the wisdom behind her words is enormous. To me, what her words convey is this:
Most often, we let an illness bog us down more than it should. A huge part of the illness is mostly our mind reacting to it. We need to be strong mentally and will our bodies to act as if all is well. The more we condition our bodies and minds to do this, the more adept we will be at overcoming illnesses.
A huge life lesson conveyed using simple words — get up and walk around!
Anu Anniah Writes 