find the gifts…

We always have a choice in how we interpret events and or circumstances that occur in our life.

‘You can choose to focus on the negative by looking at all that is wrong, which leads to more pain and suffering, or you can choose to look for what's right—to find the gifts or the opportunities—which leads to more potential, and more joy, happiness, and fulfillment.’ Tris Thorp

I have always looked for or stumbled across the ‘opportunities’ that come from challenging times. And lets just say there have been many opportunities in my life. Right now we are all coming out of a challenging time together. How can we find the gifts?

I have been reflecting when my husband and I built and owned an incredible business, a Fitness Centre (it was so much more than a fitness centre)! We built this business during and at a time when the Black Saturday Bushfires tore through our community, taking 173 lives and destroying more than 2000 homes (ours included)!

Pheasant Creek Fitness Centre became the safe place, the meeting place, the place where we laughed, we cried, we shared stories, we shared heartbreak and of course we occasionally exercised. I prescribed so many new programs when we first opened that I didn’t leave the actual building for four days. Quite literally did not leave the building because we had so many beautiful and eager new members that had never been to a gym before and needed a program specific to them and of course needed to be shown how to do it! But really what we were all seeking was connection.

This building, our GYM I might add, was also our new temporary home - we lived in the office for those first 6 months. With our Baby Bosco the bordercollie sleeping in the cot next to us! (Yes, Bosco had a cot, handcrafted and made by his Daddy), whilst we slept on a mattress on the floor that we got from the relief centre up the road.

I taught Pilates, I taught circuit classes, we had running groups and everything else that goes with a brand new state of the art gym in a fire ravaged community, nothing but the best. BUT, my favourite at the time was teaching the boxing classes. Hell yes, it was a jab, jab, uppercut, uppercut, hook kind of a class. And those hooks, well I certainly remember a few of them. If you’re reading this Leah, I’m talking about you!

Our bodies are storage containers of emotional energy, and if not given the opportunity to release, expend or transform, we hold on to them. So boxing, particularly, was a great outlet to transform the energy of anger, frustration and despair at a time that was so incredibly difficult and challenging for so many. BUT, it wasn’t just about the physical it was about connection. Having good people in you life has a strong impact on your happiness. This community, became like family.

NOW the importance of social connection is even more essential than ever to restore balance and harmony within our society. Just like we did back in 2009. We stuck together. We move, we cried, we laughed, we got fit, we got healthy and we found ourselves again.

As you become more adept at finding the opportunities in every challenge, you will begin to look on past experiences in a new light, and you will begin to rewrite your story.  - Tris Thorp

Rewriting your story requires that you take an honest look at where you blame other people or circumstances for the way your life has turned out. If you find that you’re harboring resentment, ask yourself what you learned from that person or situation. Frame the story in the positive. Think about what gifts have manifested in your life as a result of you not having had your needs or wants met at that time.

It’s ok to give yourself permission to be with the uncomfortable, but don’t burrow in. The lessons we can learn from this time, with every challenge comes an opportunity to grow, for potential, for joy, for LOVE. We are social creatures by nature, and social connections are so important for our happiness and our health. So, lets prioritise the importance of community. You don’t need to feel alone anymore, you don’t need to isolate any more. Lets, with open minds, open hearts, radical honesty and sheer determination restore the balance and harmony within our society.

I have seen the force of nature, her power, her unpredictable way yet mesmerising force that destroyed the town I call home and the property where I lived with my new husband of 11 months. I was witness to a natural disaster beyond words, this experience, that day has led me on a path of personal and spiritual growth that I am forever grateful for. It helped me develop deeper connections with my community to heal, help and to understand one another. I discovered more about myself and who I was, it took me on a journey. It gave me the tools to handle the hard stuff, to embrace the difficult times, and I know we can do this again.

The Gita, "with pain, we nourish our souls to grow high, it teaches us lessons. Every time we are hit we learn something new.”

As the wise Eddie Jaku, holocaust survivor who recently passed at the age of 101 years said, “ I do not hate anyone. Hate is a disease which may destroy your enemy, but will also destroy you.” So, as we move forward, can we move forward with LOVE, its your choice now, how do you choose to tell the next chapter of your life. Lets nourish our souls, lets learn something new, together.

“Social connectedness generates a positive feedback loop of social, emotional and physical well-being” explains Dr Emma Seppala. As we re-emerge once more, it’s not just about yourself, don’t focus on just you, its time to connect and build relationships again. The more you’ll connect the happier you’ll feel. Even Grumpy Jack down the road ultimately wants to be happy, we all do. So, lets understand the importance of our default to be social, to connect, to be happy.

You know where you’ll find me, SYMMETREE, the place like no other studio, because we don’t just MOVE and bend and stretch, WE CONNECT. Find your Happy Place. Find your GIFTS.

With Love,

Juzzy x