appreciation

I watched a documentary about a 13 year old girl from Holland, who has been sailing since the day she was born, wanted to sail around the world solo. I was instantly hooked to the screen and couldn't stop watching. At a young age she knew she wanted to be the youngest person to do this. She worked little odd jobs to make some money to buy a boat that she and her father fixed up. She set out on her own to find sponsors and to plan her own route. Her father at first didn't think she'd accomplish this, but she did. When she contact the school to have them give her the curriculum she would need for the next two years, that was where she hit her first road bump. Family services were called and for a year they battled with the court. At the end the court said that she is best left with her father and could continue on with her sail. She departed shortly after at the age of 14. Her name is Laura Dekker and she's an inspiration.

After watching the documentary I thought about it and how remarkable it is for such a young person to truly know what they want to do. And not only know, but then not wait until they were older to do it and work for it now. At the age of 13 I was so far from that sort of maturity, I had no clue what I wanted out of life. I am now in my 30's and I have only begun to grasp at what I want. The beauty of this is that there is no set time in life where you need to have it figured out. We all have different journeys that lead us to new and different experiences. Some start early, and others later. There are many times when I wish I knew half the crap I know now at an earlier age. How different my life would most certainly be but what would I have missed out on if I did? There is no point in having regret in life experiences. You take what has happened, you learn from that experience, and than you apply it to your future and move on.

I am feeling a lot of appreciation right now for what I do have, for what I have experienced, and for all those who have and are helping me along in my journey. I feel fortunate to be part of a place I had driven by a million times and never noticed until I looked for it. This place has been my sanctuary, a place where I have experienced a lot of growth and have made some wonderful friendships. It's essentially become my fitness family. I could go down an enormous list of some really exceptional members that continually inspire me but that would require a lot of typing and a lot of reading on your part. I do want to recognize two important people though, and that would be Coaches Tony and Joon. I think the cosmos aligned everything right up to them becoming business partners in order for me to find them. Without them, their chats, their knowledge, the atmosphere they've created and continue to feed, I don't know that I would have ever found my path. You both have opened my eyes, have and continue to teach me what I am capable of, and are so dedicated to your passions. There are no amount of words I could EVER type to share my appreciation for the two of you. But thank you for everything you do for all of us at CFST and beyond.

Feeling appreciation is such a positive energy. You can't appreciate something or someone and be full of anger and hate. If you are surrounded by negative energy and want a change in your life, find something/someone to be appreciative of and focus your energy on that. I promise you that all the people and/or things that are negative will slowly drift away. To my followers and to my random readers, thank you. Even though this blog was started for myself the feedback I get from you who have learned something from me or has been inspired by my experience continually drives me to continue. Your words are always kind and positive, and always appreciated!

This photo was taken from Pinterest.