I recently came across two quotes that I had found in the past and jotted down on a piece of paper.
The first quote was ,”You are either affecting people or infecting people.
The second quote was ,” You are either living by design or living by default”.

The meaning of the first one appears quite evident, “You are either influencing someone in a positive manner or you are influencing them in a negative manner.

It’s the second quote. Living by Design or Default ” that interests me at the moment or should I say seems to suddenly become more relevant in my life.

In some ways, like many other well meaning person , parts of my life are lived by design and parts are lived by default.

As I approach my seventh decade-where did the time go- I find that in general that I have more or less lived a life of design.

Being self -employed I bought a small apartment building nearly 30 years ago knowing that at some point I would wish to retire or at least have the choice to work or not to work.

I meet so many people approaching 60 who had not made plans in the past and now financial security is a grave concern.

I also designed my life with the goal of having optimum health in mind. With a blood pressure of 100/70 on average and a resting pulse of 58 with a lean body weight I feel rather healthy. I have no pains or aches as I wake up in the morning unlike the majority of people my age.

I have made health a priority in my life. The ability to handle stress became important, educating myself on what to eat, exercising -walking running, yoga, Tai Chi, Chi Kung, cycling and “The Wand” became my activities during my life time.

I came a quote once, “Saints are only Sinners who kept trying. Well , it seems that living a life of design rather than default is similar. There have been times that I did not eat as well as I could, but it was the best I knew at the time. As I became older , organized exercised seemed to have fallen by the way side. Attending weekly yoga was easier when my wife was alive.I can testify that the buddy system in exercise does work .

Recently , I moved up a notch in diet design with the inclusion of mostly raw food. I do not call my self a raw food eater as such. I abhor labels. I eat whole uncontaminated food. I do have some cooked food and I eat grass fed beef but mostly I drink a lot of different juices made by my trusty,” Blendtec”. The best place to buy it is ,”Costco”.
Without increasing my exercise program , I have loss inches on my waist and gain a leanness that I’m very pleased with.
Dear Reader if you are interested in Raw Food eating you can go on Y-Tube and listen to David Wolfe- one of the top reigning gurus of Raw Food at the moment.
You could also check out ,”Dr. Gabriel Cousens, M.D. who has been a pioneer in the field for quite some time now.
If you live in Toronto ,Canada or nearby he is lecturing at OISE at 252 Bloor ST W. on August 9th. Phone 416-617-3096 for tickets. You can also check , www.upayanaturals.com for more information. These folks have some of the most amazing Super Food products and they have fast delivery.

Because traveling is my passion and I shall more than likely head for the Far East again this winter to my mountain top , Chiang Mai, Thailand , I’m in the process of stream lining my life so that everything will run smoothly when I’m not in Toronto this winter basking in the sun and eating healthy permaculture ,organic food.

Shit happens no matter what one does but I think it is possible to minimize the amount of manure we spread in our lives by living a life of design and not one of default.

Happy Design living my dear reader.