The most significant thing in this life is our health and we need to do all that we can to preserve it. Unquestionably other things are essential also, we all share the need for an liberal amount of money to live in the world, we need companionship and shelter in order to maintain a healthy state of being, but in this writer's mind, nothing is as important than our health. I'll not make such statements without a bit more insight.

While my opinions belong to me, they do have substance and are not simply ramblings. I was forunate to have (or had) a very close friend whose focus in his journey money, this did not make him a bad person, quite the reverse is true, many times he came to me during difficult times desiring to help, as I write this he is no longer with us, he lost his health and shortly his life. Now this may be an extreme example and I certainly do not want to color this piece with despair, rather inspiration.

This is not a debating ground for spiritual topics, yet I believe fervently that the essense that is us continues and this life is asimply a rehearsal for the next; but I want to assure you I plan to enjoy my life to the fullest, savoring, taking in every molecue of air, feeling the exhilaration of the blowing wind in my face and the brilliance of a colorful twilight. When it's my time to go, I'll move without fear through the veil, but until that day, I want to walk unflinchingly across this earth and this can only be done with my health.

One reader pondered! 'Why is health more important than wealth?'

Very simply, when we have our health we can make every effort, we can earn a living, we can write resumes, go on job interviews, pursue our dreams, attempt new endeavors, exceed our dreams, but only if we have the concentration and well being to persevere. As I sit here pondering this article, I'm overlooking the river, it is quiet and serene and my thoughts are free to meander and fly, but my thoughts are fueled by my body and my body by healthy nutrition, exercise and a upbeat outlook on life; again, all this happens because of good health.

Every evening as I start to close my eyes, I think affimative thoughts, I practice deep breathing, I connect with my maker (yes I believe He exists), and express thanks for my health, but I do not take it for granted, I work to keep it that way. Each morning (and I'm not an early riser, favoring late night writing) I'll do a series of stretching movements and mild aerobics to speed up my heart rate. I'm fortunate, I have good genes, my mom lived to be 94 and my grandmother nearly the same, I learned these routines from them and I do not take these practices, nor my health for granted.

I suppose I'm somewhat on a soapbox, having lost two close friends; two friends I thought the world of, but two friends who have now departed from this plane of existence. I do not grieve for them; knowing they now fly free, but I miss them and desire that they were sitting here with me.

Is there a moral to any of this..., it is simply to appreciate the life given you and to cherish it. While I can give you no unambiguous answer as to what will occur when we leave this life, I can offer this suggestion.

Live your life to the fullest, and appreciate every breath that you breathe.