In which Father Time considers hot, cold, an in-between

My son asked recently if I like cold or hot showers.

“Medium to cold,” I told him. “Not too hot, and not too cold.”

He then asked Mommy how she likes her showers.

“Hot to very hot,” she said.

“How do you like yours?” I asked him.

“In the middle,” he said.

“Always the best,” I said. My wife shook her head.

The middle is good. It’s where I find myself at this very moment in life. I’m not too young, and I’m not too old. I’m that man in the middle of the lifespan as illustrated in medical textbooks. Not sinuous, but not sagging. Mature. Ripe.

So how to keep this person, this body, at this stage?

Keep the mind dialed at center. Mark Twain once wrote that we are happiness and sadness machines, with a setting that defaults to sadness. If we can keep our heads in a steady state, our bodies, souls, and those around us, will benefit from our evenness.

Like the water we pour on our heads to clean ourselves, we adjust the temperature. Hot showers are nice, but it depends on how long you stay in them.

◊♦◊

Photo credit: Robert Couse-Baker.

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