"Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don’t be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own."

From the hypothetical commencement speech “Advice, like youth, probably wasted on the young” by columnist Mary Schmich. Popularized by Baz Luhrmann in the song “Everybody’s Free (to Wear Sunscreen)”. Which is where I first heard it when I was ~19, and how I’ve revisited Mary’s advice nearly every year since, for decades now.

Last year I learned the original source, and read Mary’s original column – still available online at the Chicago Tribune. Funny timing too. As now I’m the exact age Mary was when she wrote it. It felt like I’d completed some long meandering quest that I didn’t know I was on.

I hope Mary will write another installment looking back from her 70s, to point me in good directions.

…I bet the bit about enjoying and using your body as best you can, as much as you can, as long as you can, with as much love as you can is an evergreen truth though.

Have a good week folks 🌱🚴‍♀️