It’s like the ticking crocodile. Time is chasing after all of us - J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

How old were you when you realized you were no longer a kid?

For some Arborists, it seems like that day never comes. In some ways, it seems that by climbing trees every day, Arborists and other tree workers have figured out how to avoid the traps of growing old.

Climbing is one of those activities that when you do it enough, you can fight off many of the issues that come along with getting older and getting stuck in the traps of adulthood.

It may come as a surprise that many people who start their careers as arborists in their twenties, continue doing tree work into their sixties. The sheer physicality of tree work would suggest that this type of work would become pretty challenging by the time that you got to your forties, but perhaps continuing to climb every day is actually what helps these old-timers defy their own age.

The Adventure That Awaits In The Trees

As we get older, many folks lose their appetite for adventure. It’s understandable in some ways… Bones get more brittle, you may have a family at home that depends on you. Waking up in the morning, you may need two cups of coffee just to get in your car and get to your desk in the office. Doing something that seems risky is the last thing on your mind.

On the other hand, for arborists, every day is an adventure. They often climb hundreds of feet in the air, taking a look at the world from a one-of-a-kind view from the canopy.

While they hop from limb to limb, they can run into all sorts of wildlife, from rare birds to the occasional raccoon or possums. They also sometimes encounter wind of incredible speeds and force and face incredible obstacles hanging from tree branches.

Muscling Your Way Against Old Age

Exercise and physical activity are some of the greatest antidotes to symptoms of aging.

Climbing, along with swimming, is one of the best full-body workouts out there. This type of exercise builds muscle, helps you maintain a more youthful metabolism, combats heart problems, decreases the risk of obesity, and encourages muscle plasticity.

One thing that is perhaps a little less obvious is how climbing can help your brain. The act of balancing in trees will keep your brain active and helps keep people mentally sharp as they age.

Sunlight is another thing that is great for keeping you healthy and vital. The Vitamin D that comes with sunlight is an antidepressant that will help your mood and overall health. It also helps with weight loss and builds your immunity.

Friendship, Fun, And F’ing Around

Most people stop climbing trees and running around with their friends when they become adults. This really is a shame.

One of the greatest things about the Arborist Community is the camaraderie that comes along with tree work.

If you spend a few hours with close friends and you will find that it’s really hard to not start to feel younger. Climbing with a bunch of buddies, riffing on each other, joking around, and competing on the job in a healthy way is pretty much a guaranteed formula for making you feel like a kid.

Kill The Boredom, Kill The Routine, Kill The Aging

If you want to feel old fast, do the same thing every day. As your job gets old, you get old. As you get bored, you get boring.

Tree workers often say that their favorite thing about the job is how different each day is. They may be climbing a tree super high in the air, they may be applying fertilizer, they may be pruning, they may be removing a tree, they may be helping out on the ground.

Tree work is anything but predictable. If you wake up every morning, knowing that you will experience something totally different than the day before, you will continue to maintain that youthful energy.

“I Taught You To Fight And Fly. What More Could There Be?”

In an article about defying gravity and never growing up, it only seems appropriate to leave you folks with another quote from J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. The world out there is challenging and it can wear you down. It’s your job to stand up for yourself and stay young.

It is quite likely that even after reading this, you still may never climb a tree as an adult, and that is really OK. What is important is that you find ways to have fun every day, that you take care of yourself with exercise, and that you seek out your own adventures.

Hopefully, you enjoyed this article, and maybe even found it a little inspiring. Whether you are going to go climb a tree or not, go have some fun, see some friends, and move around. Your vitality is your responsibility!