Challenges.

Things happen in three’s right? For example last week I had expensive dental work done, paid my car rego and bought a new 10 class pilates pass. “Ouch” cried my bank balance (and me from the dentist chair).

But a more significant set of threes also occurred last week:

1. Carol: Last year my mum passed on her antique wooden spinning wheel to this wild and vibrant hippie named Carol. Carol started going to spinning classes where she said she would spend the whole 45 minutes swearing in frustration and laughing with joy. She said there was not one class where she didn’t learn something new.

On Saturday she walked into the shop beaming and announced that she had something for me. She placed a crumpled brown bag on the counter and pulled out a pair of soft grey woollen slippers. She knitted them from the first lot of wool that she spun on the wheel. Carol pointed out a thin piece of turquoise wool which she had tied around each ankle and explained that the wool had been on the wheel when mum gave it to her, therefore it must have been the last thing mum had made herself.

Carol gave me the slippers because she said that she wants me to experience the wonderful journey she experienced on this challenge of learning a new skill. And of course, the slippers fit perfectly on my larger than normal feet.

2. Pilates: If you’ve spent more than 15 minutes with me, you will know that I’m head over heels for pilates. I started in February this year and my teacher suggested that I come and check out the advanced class on Thursday night. I went along with a belly full of fish cakes, expecting to sit quietly in the corner to see what I was up for at the end of the year when I was aiming to start thinking about advanced.

“Grab a mat” said my teacher... Forty five minutes later I was a puffed, exhausted and every fibre of my body was pulsing. My triceps didn’t even want to talk to me again til four days later. My teacher gave me the option of staying in Intermediate and building strength or moving up to Advanced if I felt like a challenge. Once she said that word, I knew what I wanted to do.

3. The card: The final piece of the puzzle was when I picked an affirmation card this morning out of the little red teacup next to my bed. I turned over the yellow card and read “CHALLENGE YOURSELF”.

So I opened up my laptop and decided to tell you about it.

When you’re at a cross road next, think “Which one is the easy option and which one is the challenge”?

“Anything unattempted remains impossible”. Unknown Author

"Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still”. Chinese proverb

“Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful”. Joshua J. Marine