Firstly, I would like to apologise that this particular blog post is
so tardy from my last. Ok thats a massive understatement, not just
tardy, a year between
posts (EEK!). I have had some personal things that required me to
prioritise myself and self care above all of the attention to social
media and working
ON my business as all I could suffice was working IN my business and
managing the rest of my life. Its been a year full of ups and downs but
I am thrilled
to be back to my energetic self and to have the time and energy to
sit down and write this. Thank you for your understanding. This blog
post is highly
emotive and personal for me and I hope it evokes something for you
too.
Life is short. Buckle yourself in and enjoy the ride!
At the beginning of the year I had a middle aged gentleman book an
Initial Consultation to get on top of his reoccurring back pain. Scott
was quietly humble
and we spoke about his body history and his musculoskeletal
pathology and then got to work. To try and make people feel more
confident in what can
seem like an intimidating environment - from what I have been
repeatedly told “a torture chamber”- My way of trying to make people
feel comfortable
is generally to make a silly joke - insert either a corny “Dad Joke”
or often - “We’re going to put your feet in straps now and work on your
lower
leg musculature, this is where it gets a bit 50 shades of grey!”
with a sarcastic wink. On this particular occasion Scott gave me a very
subtle smirk
and when he left I thought “bugger, he didn’t get my humour”. Later
that week Scott emailed me to book his next 10 sessions and in that
email he had
left me a funny Dad joke which read “Why did the scarecrow win an
award? - Because he was outstanding in his field”. I thought “Yes! He
DID get my
humour”, and felt happy I had done more than offered this man
movement prescription, but that I had been able to build a rapport where
we could exchange
jokes. Over the next 20 sessions Scott and I exchanged book
recommendations and Dad Jokes during each of his visits to the studio,
as well as attended
to and reduced the incidence of his back pain that he had put up
with for years. He was feeling stronger and his beautiful wife reported
that “Scott
is loving his pilates programme and that it is challenging him and
is looking forward to the health and wellness benefits as a result”. I
was thrilled!
When I opened Inhale, as you have read in my very first blog post, my
aim was not simply to offer a place where people work out, fix their
aches and pains,
get stronger and more flexible, but that it became a COMMUNITY, a
place where people felt comfortable to be themselves, to have a laugh,
to open up,
be heard, supported and a part of something more than simply an
exercise regime. It is ALWAYS a two way energy exchange. For whatever
positive impact
I am able to offer to my clients, I receive that positivity and
happiness in bucket loads in return and my “work” bucket is so full to
the brim because
of wonderful people like Scott. When Scott finished his 20 sessions
and his back was feeling better he informed me he would see how it goes
for a while
and let me know if he needs to come back if or when his back was
playing up. He shook my hand as he left, looked me in the eyes with a
big smile and
stated “It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know you Lauren,
thank you for all your help with my body”. We parted ways and I felt
happy I had
done my job and that I had made an impact in someones life, however
small. Scott emailed me a week or so later knowing I had some personal
business
to be attending to and in his email wrote these wise words which I
will treasure close to my heart always, “I trust that things went well
for you -
the road of good intentions isn’t travelled by many or often”.
This was the last time I spoke to Scott. It is the last time I will
ever speak to this wonderfully authentic and humble man. Two weeks ago I
was informed
by one of my other beautiful clients that Scott had tragically and
unexpectedly passed away. My heart sank. Death and the finality of it
frightens
the shit out of me, and to be raw and honest, I’ve lost 4 people
very close to me in the last 5 years and so naturally, it provokes that
same feeling
of anxiety for me. It is so hard for me to understand the nature of
being here, a living breathing walking soul, one minute, and gone the
next. I went
home to my Mum that night upset and as we always do, thinking back
on the last exchange of words Scott and I had had. That same week I was
speaking
with one of my other beautiful clients who knows Scott and his
family well (six degrees of separation on the south coast). I was
telling her how much
I loved our sessions together and how we would exchange books and
jokes and in particular how I had referred Scott onto this book which
many people
I’m sure are sick of hearing me rant on about - Conversations With
God by Neale Donald Walsh. It honestly changed my life in the last 9
months and
my perspective on the world. I was still reading the trilogy when
Scott and his wife went on holidays with friends and came back and he
had finished
the extensive read! I was so pleased he had loved it and enjoyed it
as much as I was. She stopped me in my story stating that she had to
tell me what
had happened. She went over to see Scott’s wife earlier the week
before and sorting through some things with her when Scott’s wife picked
up a book
and said to my client “you have to read this book, Conversations
with God. Scott had had certain challenges during his upbringing and
always had lots
of questions about life but I know that wherever he has gone, he has
gone there in peace and with the answers he always sought.” We stood
there with
tears in our eyes and the hair on my arms was standing on end. The
smallest interaction of exchanging a book that impacted me had brought
such an impact
and positivity to someone else. My work had meaning. I wasn’t just
providing a movement experience. I was helping people beyond that.
I hope that when I leave the world, I leave as authentically myself,
as humble and quietly confident as Scott. It got me thinking about what
legacy I want
left behind. What legacy do YOU want left behind? When you leave
your earth suit, what did you contribute to those around you, to the
environment,
to the world? What will people be thinking about you as the music
comes on and the curtains close? I hope that I live and am remembered as
being perfectly
imperfect. I hope I am remembered for being there for people in
their times of need, that I was kind and thoughtful, honest,
transparent, courageous,
opinionated, loving, vulnerable, genuine. I hope people remember I
lived my life wearing my heart on my sleeve, the big softie that I am
with a big
heart, an easy cryer, a good hugger, a determined, bold and
generally happy person. I hope people laugh at my funeral remembering
how bad I was at
telling jokes, how slow I was at getting jokes and my inability to
correctly pronounce words like Calendula or Jus. I hope people joke
wondering if
I am buried with my Dyson vacuum cleaner and recall my mild
tendencies of OCD with a giggle. I hope by the time I reach this final
destination I have
created life, loved and raised them far more perfectly imperfect
than I could ever aspire to be and they are equipped with the skills and
confidence
to positively contribute to the world and those around them after I
am gone as I hope to do until that point.
What can you do today to GIVE, not TAKE. What small gesture of
kindness may you look back on as being huge in another persons life?
What legacy do you
want to leave? What will people say about you when you are gone? How
can you live that legacy every. single. day. until that time comes?
Life is short.
Stop right now and look around you at all the beauty. Do not wait
until tomorrow to tell someone you love them, appreciate them and are
grateful to
have them as part of your life. Tomorrow may never come. Don’t be
shy to tell someone you love their smile, their dress, their laugh. If
you were not
to see tomorrow, what would you do today?
IF YOU WERE NOT TO SEE TOMORROW, WHAT WOULD YOU DO TODAY?
Live your life every single day as if it might be your last. Because
it might. None of us know what is around the corner. And its ALL just
around the corner.
So be bold, love with everything you have, don’t leave anything left
over and above all, be kind.
I want to thank Scott for the mark he left on my heart and credit him
for living a life well lived, for being authentically himself and for
giving much
much more than he took. I want to send my most loving condolences to
his wife and two children. I am SO grateful to have met your Husband
and Dad.
