Future Impact

My husband and I are preparing to celebrate a significant anniversary – we started dating by watching the Oscars together 25 years ago!  The powers that be in television land have moved the date around on us over the years and we’ve chosen to link our anniversary to the event rather than the date on the calendar (yes, we also mark the date – we kinda like anniversaries).  That one event 25 years ago changed the course of our lives in a way we had no way of anticipating at the time.

We spent some time yesterday thinking about all that’s changed over the last quarter of a century, and let the sheer weight of that block of time of wrap around us.  We talked about changes within our relationship and in the world at large (and in our hair – look at us!).  It was a good conversation!

One thing we didn’t dig into, though, was the significance of that one event.

When I go about my days I rarely think to myself, “I wonder how this meeting/email/class/conversation will impact the next 25 years of my life.”  Do you?  No – we go about life just doing and being and it’s only when we look back that we see the lasting impact of our decisions or actions.

An exception to this for me is my workouts.  I really do think about how each session I spend dancing and moving might impact me in the future.

There’s the immediate future:

• The sense of accomplishment that comes from nailing a piece of choreography or upping the weights on a routine.
• The mood-boost after breaking a good sweat or spending an hour with the awesome studio ladies
• The quieting of my mind after a session of yoga or Pilates.

And the long-term future, another 25 (and more) years from now:

• Lowering my risk of falling in older-age by working on my core strength.
• Strengthening my heart with cardio so it might beat longer and healthier.
• Increasing the length of time I’m likely to be able to live on my own through strengthening my muscles.

One event – one class – can impact me for moments, hours, days, weeks, years, and decades.  I love that!  I love that what happens in the studio gets to ripple on for years and years after we turn off the lights and close up for the night.

Here’s to all the years that are yet to come!