Isip: Borrowed Tools

This was a brief (hehe) brain fart (hehe) that I had while in the backseat of our car as my family went out for dinner. I was pondering on the mysteries of life and what motivates us to do the things we do, when this came to mind. It’s a thought that roots from my Christian upbringing and links to my fitness endeavors.

I like to think of our bodies as tools that we borrow. They are loaned to us, for free, by a higher power. Some day, we’re going to have to give them back. How we treat our bodies, then, is a good indicator of the kind of person we are.

Are we the type to us and abuse the things given to us with reckless abandon, knowing that we wouldn’t be charged anything at all for their use?

Are we the type to shelter and keep them in storage, so that we return them in the exact, pristine condition we got them in?

Or are we the type to use them to their highest potential, despite the risks, to make use of them the best we can?

Everything we have is borrowed. Our bodies, our time, our belongings. I guess this is, in part, why I engage in fitness. Because it gives me the chance to improve my physical, mental, and emotional states. It helps build character, as well as overall usefulness.

We are given these bodies for a limited time, so why aren’t we taking care of them more, so that we can fully utilize them?

Kilgore & Rippetoe define fitness as “possession of adequate levels of strength, endurance, and mobility to provide for successful participation in occupational effort, recreational pursuits, familial obligation, and that is consistent with a functional phenotypic expression of the human genotype.”

In simple words, fitness about honing your body to get the most out of life. And just like the parable of the talents, when we use what is given to us in a manner that benefits everyone, there is surely a reward for our work.

This is why I believe that the cost of fitness is vastly outweighed by its benefits.

And also why I believe the best thing to do with these borrowed items is to utilize them and do our best to make sure that when we return them to our creator, they are at the very least better than the state we got them in.

-jgzn