"How are you doing?"

Decades of sitting behind desks, in airplanes or in a car has blessed me with very tight hips which, when not tended to, can be a crippling and painful proposition until the anti-inflammatories kick in. One of my preventative strategies is to walk each and every day which not only helps me deal with the bane of my existence but also gives me an opportunity to enjoy the neighbourhood, and its cast of characters (myself included).
The bows in his legs reminded me of cowboy caricature, like a cartoon character you would find each Saturday morning shooting his way through the wild wild, west; the six-shooter in each hand however had been replaced with canes. It was obvious as I approached each step was a painful venture and as I passed him I nodded and habitually asked, âHow are you doing?â
I heard him quietly reply, âIâm not doing as well as you areâ.
I will admit this was a number of weeks ago and Iâm still trying to unpack and understand the response â was I surprised with his boldness for not offering up the obligatory response to a stranger, was it the realization that my sporadic mobility issues pale in comparison to real challenges, was it a reminder that perspective is everything, or maybe simply that life is sometimes an unfair proposition. In the end, the interaction has reminded me that success and happiness need to be aligned with personal benchmarks.
I can only speculate what his answer would have been if we had met as I hobbled along piloted by an anti-inflammatory haze; probably something different would be my guess. None of this is meant to discount the challenges we all face as we make our way but I think this is a nice example of the importance for measuring to internal milestone because as we all know, at any given time, you can always find someone who is richer, smarter, prettier, faster, healthier or stronger⊠just check out your social media feeds. âHow are you doing?â (or in a slightly wordier formâHow is the progress to your goals going?â) can only be measured against the milestones you set for yourself, and these become the reference points when you are looking for the answer. Remember the operative word in this question is âyouâ and it is âyourâ progress.
Looking for outside references simply surrenders ownership, and as you probably know, there can only be one owner. Itâs best that itâs you.
iamgpe
PS: I hope everyone is doing well and everything is going according to plan!
Articles from Grahamđ Edwards
View blog
Itâs one of those books that is dense with information â not hard to comprehend but contains so much ...

I have no context to this â it may be the work of a local urban artist, possibly some sort of clever ...
Recently I thought I had reached a level of wisdom that I could offer thoughts on a number of things ...
Related professionals
You may be interested in these jobs
-
Field Survey Technician
Found in: Jooble CA - 6 days ago
McElhanney Peace River, AB, CanadaThe Opportunity: · McElhanney Ltd. has a rewarding opportunity for an individual to join our team as a Field Survey Technician to join our team in Peace River, AB. We are a unique office that provides a wide range of engineering services to clients throughout Northwestern Albert ...
-
Technicien(e) concepteur(rice) junior en automatisation
Found in: Jooble CA - 6 days ago
Hatch Montréal, QC, CanadaNo de la demande : 85707 Catégorie d'emploi : Ingénieurs · Lieu : Montréal, QC, Canada · Joignez-vous à une entreprise déterminée à apporter des changements positifs pour créer un monde meilleur. Comptant plus de 65 ans d'expertise commerciale et technique dans les mines , l ...
-
Student - Office Assistant (554)
Found in: Jooble CA - 6 days ago
Various Ministries Kitchener, ON, CanadaAre you a student looking for an opportunity to build your career over the summer? Are you passionate about making a difference? The Summer Employment Opportunities program provides students with opportunities to obtain valuable work experience, gain transferable skills, and buil ...
Comments
Jerry Fletcher
1 year ago #1
Graham, Good to hear from you here. Most of us, as we age begin to have joint problems. For me it is my knees. Both need replacement and one (the left) has had surgical replacement postponed twice due to the hospital being full of Covid patients. Every time I take another Advil I say thank you to the Universe for pain killers and being able to defer going to the hospital. Never thought a Pandemic would be our lot in life at this age. And so it goes.