“And the Lord said to Abram… “Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” (Genesis 13:14, 17)
“Then the LORD said to Joshua,…“March around the city (Jericho) once with all the armed men. Do this for six days.” (Joshua 6:3)
Don’t you love hearing the stories about how 60 years ago your grandparents walked two miles to school through rain, and sleet, and snow and carried a tin pail with their lunch? Well, even I walked to school and that was only 45 years ago! (Yes, I admit it.) My, times have changed!
Private transportation: The death of active lives
Suburban sprawl began to take off after World War II; and in the United States, suburban has become our middle name. Around the world in places where suburbs also exist, public transportation is usually available. However, in the US, where most Americans seem to have several cars in their driveways, many cities have little or no bus, rail, or subway connection to surrounding suburbs.
In 2003, Vital Signs, reported that the average car in the United States is driven 10% more per year than a car in the United Kingdom, about 50% more than one in Germany, and almost 200% more than a car in Japan. I have seen people get in the car and go to their mailbox! We are not walking because we are all driving! We are driving either because we live too far from our lives or there are no sidewalks or it is not safe to walk. As we become aware of our personal inactivity on a daily basis, we must find ways to get out and just move!
It was also about fifty years ago that the mall, as we know it, was born. So suburbia and the mall syndrome combined with the “mart” syndrome as in K- and Wal-, have moved our lives farther and farther away from where we actually live. However, with high gas prices and global warming looming, we may see an interest return for more public transportation and urban or small-town living. Those concepts are already booming in some areas of the country.
As a helpful resource, I have lots of articles on healthy ingredients and recipes that you can implement into your daily life.
If you’d like to dig deeper into my journey of discovering God’s plan for health and wellness, check out my book, Made For Paradise: God’s Original Plan for Healthy Eating, Physical Activity, and Rest.
