Gym Adventures: Rowdy at the Gym!

I had the most frightening gym experience this past weekend.

It was Saturday evening, and our gym closes at 8, so we were only there for the last couple of hours.

There is an open balcony section to our gym which just happened to be where my husband and I were talking when we – all of a sudden – heard a big commotion going on downstairs. We looked over the balcony and noticed everyone else staring as well.

To the side of the gym, it appeared that a fight was about to happen. There was yelling, what looked like threats, looks of disbelief on faces, and many people looking uneasy. We watched as the two jacked-up guys walked away from the smaller ones twice. Both times, the other men followed and continued to yell.

Thankfully, a man that seems to be friendly with everyone at the gym calmly walked over and said something to diffuse the situation. However, as can be imagined, the mood of the gym was changed.

After listening to the members talking, it seems to be unanimous that this was an occasion of where the younger guys want to take down the “big guys”. The gym worker called her manager, and the ones who started the fight will have their memberships reviewed. She also apologized to the “big guys” but of course, they did not blame her.

It was crazy: to think a fight was about to happen at your gym where testosterone is an obvious high. Would everyone jump in the fight? Who knows?

I’m so happy a fight didn’t actually happen. But I think it’s important to look at the safety of the members because this isn’t the first time those younger guys have caused problems. My husband and I saw (and reported) when they put holes in the walls of the group class room, and walked through trainer’s offices when they weren’t in them. I do agree with second chances, but I think that people do need to understand that there is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour no matter where you are. There are consequences that come (or at least should come) with disrespect and causing problems.

I’m not sure what the gym’s decision will be, but I am interested to find out. Stay tuned…

The Uncontrollable Future

As I sit here and reflect on life, I’ve come to realize that no matter what you think, no matter how hard you try to predict what may happen in the future, the truth is that you honestly never know.

You can have your whole life planned out and one small thing can change the course of your future. It’s almost unsettling; asking yourself what you should do, what you should plan, what goals you should work towards, what really is going to be worth it in the end. Yet we have no greater capabilities than to lift these questions to God in prayer and make the best decision that we can think through at that given time, whether it may have been the right decision or not. Only time will tell.

It has become mostly apparent to me that life cannot be lived a year at a time, or a month at a time, or a week at a time. Sure, you can make plans for a vacation, or towards other small things in life, but you can only truly get the most out of life when you’re doing the best you can with the day you’ve been given.

We aren’t promised 20 more years, we aren’t even promised tomorrow. We aren’t even promised another 5 minutes, but what we have right now – that breath you just took – was a gift; a gift of time. We are only human and not every moment will be spent as perfectly as possible, but we can strive to change the course of our future, the course of our actions, and the course of our thoughts. We can strive for the best moments, for moments of bliss, moments of happiness, moments frozen in time full of laughter and joy. Only then will thoughts of the future seem less frightening; less frustrating. Only when we make the best of each moment we have will we truly appreciate the life we’ve been given and live to become that greater person that we were meant to be.

So take a moment and don’t think of what you can do at another time to change your future, but rather what you can begin doing right now, with this very gift of life. Think of what you can do and do your best.

Life is not always meant to be easy nor is it always certain. Sometimes decisions in life hang in the grey area we wish didn’t exist. But only take a moment to think, lift the situation up in prayer, grab the Father’s hand, and jump two feet in. You’ll be rest assured that one way or another, you are doing the best you can do for the moment of time you’ve been given. You’ll continue to do the best you can with each gift of a moment you receive from now until the glorious moment when all fog shall be removed from our eyes and life will suddenly appear crystal clear; the moment life will no longer be uncertain but rather become a time of endless celebration and a time of timeless rejoicing.