Straight From the Mike – The Power of The Alphabet

We all should know and appreciate how healthy and invigorating it can be to exercise our body, mind, and spirit. I want to recommend a timely, challenging, and satisfying exercise that I enjoyed doing.

It is a fact that our English language is one of the most challenging to learn with so much etymology, dual meanings, double entendres and the like. How about selecting what you think is the most powerful letter in the alphabet? Guess what my selection was: the letter ‘P.’

The times we are living in today, the daily challenges of the moment, and the anticipation of what tomorrow may bring, clearly suggested to me several keywords starting with the letter P. We need to be grounded in a philosophy, principled living and beliefs, people that we love and respect, and the power to make positive things happen for others as well as ourselves. There is no need to stop there. The importance of our physical well-being speaks volumes as we mature and as the onset of ‘greying’ commences, often uncontrollably.

I believe there is an interesting romantic novel titled Pride and Prejudice written by Jane Austen. The less we have or experience of the latter, the better our quality of life will be. We are constantly concerned and mindful about our personal relationships. Most of us are engaged in striving to make progress at the crossroads of life. Goodness knows many of us baby boomers have issues with the prevalence of ‘low riders.’ I wonder what has happened to personal pride. We have seen the transition from Nine West and Bandolino shoes for the ladies, from Johnson & Murphy, and Bally shoes for the gents to white-soled pseudo-dress shoes for the brothers and toe-out slides and Crocs for the sisters. Ah, what was so good about those days? We dressed to the nines and gave no change.

One important ‘P’ that comes about in my everyday living during these ominous times is purpose. We all need a North Star and unless you know where you are going, any road will take you there, sooner or later.

Of course, we cannot forget the final ‘P’ on my list. The world of politics is front and center now and really will be a topic of discussion, vigorous debate, and spirited arguments going on into 2024.

Oh, I could go on, but I hope you can catch my drift. When you exercise your mind, the body and soul will follow. You will feel so much better without the necessity to get a prescription for discomfort or depressing thoughts. A remedy is in our midst.

Life is hard by the yard, but a cinch by the inch. A real truism here.

Have a restful and thought-filled Labor Day and remember, the value of labor is critical in our society.