Sometimes our past experiences catch up with us, sometimes they open up old wounds and sometimes they bring great joy, often times they leave us with more questions than answers. But the one thing thats guaranteed is that life's experiences will take us forward, willingly or kicking and screaming, time however, will not wait for us to gather our thoughts, to be ready or to fully prepare, it moves forward regardless....
I love August, its a month where work is quieter, London is easy to navigate, days are generally warmer and I have the time to be less structured in my day to day comings and goings. This Year I unexpectedly also got to meet up with a friend I hadn't seen in over 17 years. We had a coffee and in spite of some difficult previous history, it seemed like no time had passed, we were simply the friends we were before life got complicated, 90 minutes later and he was on the move again, heading back to his wife and daughter, a joy to see, a future I doubt he would have predicted 17 years ago. I was fearful of going back, but in doing so we both moved forward, a leap of faith ending in a happy encounter. I've also been struck this week by the number of parents waiting for their children's exam results and parents preparing to send their children off on their next adventures. Their emotion has been heartfelt and at times a little heart breaking to see but in the end I also see 'children' (and by that I mean all of us with parents still looking out for us however old we are) ready to take their next steps with a sense of adventure, courage and confidence capable of riding the unpredictable wave of experience that lies before them. So as I use the quieter time to organize the remaining years schedule I'm struck with how far I, and many around me have come. When it would have been easier to give up based on previous experiences the answer has been to open up more and allow ourselves to experience more, to express fears instead of pretending we are fearless, to express frustration instead of turning inwards and above all to learn to say No to things that are likely to have a negative impact on our lives, but more importantly to say Yes to opportunities, even when fear is trying its best to shoot us down before we have even started.
So to the scars and wounds of experience I salute you, you remind me of the battles and the hurdles to get to today, this moment, this time, for helping me discover a true love for Pilates, a passion for the generous learning and for all teachers I have encountered on my journey so far, and for the understanding that the only reason we attain knowledge is to share it, and to those teachers who think its theirs to hold onto, I wish you luck because its like a trying to create a Martini without the shaker, you might have all the ingredients but you will never know how to truly bring its potential together, and only truly unique teachers know when and how to shake, mix the add the olive.......as for me I'm off to practice my Martini roll down against the wall, is it possible? I dont know, am I having a lot of fun doing it and teaching it, yes. Sometimes the only way to make peace with the day is with laughter, there are endless reasons to cry...try instead to find the moments that make you laugh, you might just find that roll down possible after all....
Sometimes you just need a drink with your fruit!
Keep walking, rolling and cart wheeling the Pilates path,
With love,
Suzy
www.seraphinapilates.com
