What does Fitness mean to me?

What is Fitness? I have asked many people this same question over the years. Many have said, "It's looking like a super-model or having muscles like a bodybuilder." I personally couldn't disagree with them more. Fitness, to me, is a way of life, a state of mind, a philosophy. Fitness is getting up in the morning and being happy, truly happy with that person looking back in the mirror. Being able to actually say that I love this person. How do we get to this point? I'm sure it's a very different path for each and everyone of us. When I was down and out in New Orleans and contemplating taking my own life, fitness was my savior. It gave me hope. It enabled me to escape from my self-imposed prison. It allowed me to discover the true power of the human body and spirit, to find the fire that dwells inside of us all. The power to believe that anything was truly possible if I only believed in myself. It then allowed me to travel to exotic places around the world to compete in what was once only unthinkable endurance and strength events, inevitably taking this human body as near to death as possible only to come back stronger and more self-confident than ever before. It's a best friend that's always there. It is to be enjoyed and cherished, not loathed and abandoned. It's the ability as I grow older to never stop playing like a child. Most importantly, fitness is my golden path to aging with grace, moving proudly through life and when the time comes to leave this world with dignity. That's what fitness is to me.