Keep Moving

Steve Arkin was an alum parent from my school who used to live in my neighborhood. For years, I would run into him jogging here and there, rain or shine. As he got into his 70’s, his pace was slower, but he was relentless in his commitment. One time I asked him about it and he said, “My father gave me two word of advice that have sustained me my whole life: 'Keep moving.' "

And so, as I’m about to board the plane from Bangkok to Macau, I feel the resonance of those words. They can be used in the literal physical sense— and after four days of neither walking nor swimming, I feel the absence of movement. Exercise matters! They can be used in a larger literal context, like “Bangkok was glorious, but let’s see what Macau has to offer."  And when I get home, teaching a new Jazz History Course in a new venue to a new group of people awaits me. And while I'm at it, why not go to another poetry retreat and then rush home to take a trip to Yosemite with my  wife and daughter? And then take a flight to Moscow for the first Jazz Festival I’ve been invited to teach in. (And yes, Russia would be quite a switch, playing Boom Chick a Boom with Putin to convince him to stop the other kind of booming and bombing. But this Moscow is in Idaho). Just keep moving.

And then there’s the more profound metaphorical meaning, of moving while sitting still, be it in meditation or reading a book or learning a new piece on the piano or having a courageous conversation with a friend or acquaintance. I’ve never been a big fan of Sin, but for me, the biggest sin is getting stuck, being frozen in one’s self-created hells or purgatories, of refusing the invitation to think larger or feel deeper and instead, just keep swirling around in the same-old nightmare (think Nashville and blaming it all on side-doors in schools). 

I miss Steve Arkin jogging around the hood, as he moved on to another astral plane a couple of years back, far too young for those who knew and enjoyed and loved him. But his words, passed on by his Dad, continue to resonate. Keep moving. Keep moving.