FOOLED BY THE CALENDER…

“From now on, it’s only you and me against the world, my beautiful Isabella”, Angelique Scholly wrote last week on her Facebook page…

We are all still deeply shocked and saddened at the sudden passing of Angelique’s husband, Johannes…He was only 30 years old, and now, at the young age of only 25, Angelique has joined a club no one wants to be part of – the young widow’s club.

We are all at a loss for words – nobody can remove this splinter from Angelique’s being – I can’t imagine how tough the following months will be for Angelique, having to face all Isabella’s first benchmarks on her own – the first bicycle ride, the first ballet class and the first swimming lesson.

All we can do is pray that God would fill that huge hole in her heart with His healing Light…

I suppose it’s true that I write about the shortness of life, at least once a year – so forgive me for doing it again today.  I just can’t help it – I am reminded of the fact daily, we all are.  Although Covid has stopped its path of destruction in our town, our community has still lost quite a few much-loved members in the past few months.

Today I am older than my mom ever got to be…A few weeks ago, Eswee asked me what my plans for the studio are in 20 years.  I have never thought about that – my family knows that I live day by day, and my forever is composed of “nows”.   I live with the daily conscious awareness that our lives could change in a split second.

So, my mindset regarding the studio has always been and will continue to be, to go full-blast while I can – living each day on a tiny dot of time within a vast sea of God-given moments.  But luckily, for the first time ever, I have this amazing, dedicated, passionate team of instructors who share my vision, energy, and love for the studio.  And I know, that if something unforeseen happens, they will be there to take over and continue my legacy. 

And, who knows, if I’m still alive and kicking at 75, maybe I can still teach a Pilates and Bootybarre class or two, stand way at the back in step class, and join the Golden Girls on a Thursday for a slow jive… 🙏

The acclaimed American author, Pat Conroy, once wrote: “Why do they not teach you that time is a finger snap and an eye blink, and that you should not allow a moment to pass you by without taking joyous, ecstatic note of it?”

When I was a kid, I used to wonder about this.  Is life actually short, or are we really complaining about its finiteness?  Would we be just as likely to feel life was short if we lived 10 times as long?  I still don’t really know, but what I do know is that since the birth of my own kids, I have been constantly reminded that life IS short.

I cherish every moment we’ve spent together as a family, and sometimes I wish I could run back and just quickly take a little bit more of it in and no one will notice. And now that our circle is expanding, with Zander and Nicole becoming an integral part of Mariné and Eswee’s lives, it’s as if I want to slow down time even more.  I watch the four of them dreaming about the future, making plans, and creating bucket lists, and wish with all my heart that I could be there one day to experience them being thirty-somethings and parents.  My mom didn’t even have the privilege to meet Eswee and Mariné – I would give anything to one day play tennis with my grandchildren, build a sandcastle with them on the beach, teach them how to hula and read them bedtime stories.

But nothing is promised, and we cannot get more time than we have – life IS short, even on the longest days.

Therefore, we should allow life’s shortness to constantly take us by surprise.  Every single one of us.  To pay closer attention to the time we do have. The famous psychologists Charles Richards once said:

“Don’t be fooled by the calendar. There are as many days in a year as you make use of. One man gets a week’s value out of a year while another gets a year’s value out of a week.”

Maybe then it IS possible to slow time somewhat – to smell the coffee, find the lyrics of the song, make way for someone in the busy parking area, and stop worrying about the things we can’t control.  We can’t control what someone says behind our backs, how fast the guy in front of you is driving, and definitely not how long we live…

But we can let go of grudges, make time to talk to our loved ones, cherish special moments, do something to make the world a better place, create stillness in our day, eat slower, and decide not to give up.

Life IS short, but it’s up to you and me to make it sweet.  So, let’s not to be fooled by the calendar, let’s live life to the fullest, because the future is scarce.  Being in a hurry does not slow down time. There are millions of incredible moments in a day. Even if you lose 1000’s, there are 100’s of them still left. Make them yours.

Because if we’re always racing to the next moment, what happens to the one we’re in?

Yours in fitness

Mirna

082 779 0507