I never thought walking would be an exercise for me. I have been at it every day for one month and I have not only liked it, I’ve loved it. It has caused me to think and be more observant than when I fly by on my mountain bike, which was my preferred form of exercise until surgery to have my gall bladder removed.

Today, as I often do, I walked through the Maryville College woods. I noticed trees I had passed by dozens of times, perhaps more than a hundred. I really studied them. I looked at a tall pine backdropped by the blue sky. I saw a knotty maple with withering leaves. I saw a tree with a scar. A scar caused by a fatal impact of a careless young man with his life ahead of him. A tree that wishes it had never been in the way of a speeding automobile. A tree surrounded by flowers and words written by people equally as young, forever changed by a loss. I read the notes left by friends and looked at the flowers wishing they had never been bought. I walked alone and said a prayer for the grieving friends and family of a young man who, only days before, had walked tall in his life.

Note: I don’t often “steal” things. Today I was a thief. I stole this post from my other blog.  That blog is what I call my X-blog - my plan to exercise every day for one year. Jan 1st will be six months of intentional exercise every day (yes even the day on, and day after my surgery).

On or near January 1st, I’ll be encouraging people to join me like my friend Laurie who has her own X-blog and is active again after a hiatus. Link to the X-blog and read Laurie’s posts. She is on a quest to loose 75 pounds by next summer.

Things I have THOUGHT about blogging about this week and likely still will:

- Anne Graham Lotz (Billy Grahams’ daughter) who I heard speak yesterday, but it required some thinking which I will do over the weekend.

- Attitude: I experienced a great story today involving two people who lost jobs with the same organizations, but had two VERY different responses. I’ll write that one later too.

- Marriage: Tomorrow  is my wife’s birthday and on her day I’ll likely write about being married to her. She’s an incredible wife and she deserves every bit of the special day and surprise evening I have planned.

- Maryville High School football (recently ranked in the top ten of teams in a USA “Today” poll). Last week I went to my first game after four and a half years living here. They are an amazing team who have won several state high school championships in the last seven or eight years. I am hooked. Wanted to go tonight but alas, I had a party to plan. Please come if you are local.

Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies, associations, and national conventions. He is the founder of the The Worlds Biggest Blog Party an event which will connect bloggers from all over the world to raise money for charity. He is also founder and president of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund. For more information on Tim, go to www.TimRichardson.com