Life gets busy. Work hours change. Kids need your time. The new episode of “Biggest Loser” is on. There is always an excuse to not be active.

Recently when I was in Palm Springs the weather ended up being cooler than expected. So my plan of waking up for a morning hike or run was put in jeopardy. I stayed out later than expected, drank a few extra glasses of wine, and found myself pretty damn comfortable under the covers. But I decided I’d get up and go. I forced myself to get up and go.

Chilly, tired, and with a sore body I made may through the neighborhood to the trailhead. Honestly I was a couple hundred yards into it when I thought about scraping the plan and heading back to crawl into bed.

Then I saw this elderly lady walking in front of me. As I got closer, and eventually passed her, I couldn’t help but notice her effort. We were on level pavement. But she was working so hard to take every step. No walker or cane, just sheer determination. It wasn’t fast progress but she kept moving. You could tell by her body movement that every step was a lot of work.

It made me realize how ungrateful I was being for my health; For my ability to break out into a sprint and cut left and cut right. I’m nowhere near being in Olympic shape but I’m pretty active. My health is overall pretty good. But I know it won’t always be. I’ve had to work through a sore knee to get back into shape. My body gets sore when I over do it. And I see and feel that I don’t heal like I used to.

But you have to use what you have before it’s gone. There are people that would love to have the health, or even the limbs, to be able to do something active. Some use prosthetics to do it. Others, like this little old lady, use mental determination.

Don’t waste the days when you can be active and agile. One day walking across the room may not even be an option.