Keep It Moving

Many years ago I was taking a work related course. It was fairly intensive and lasted several months. At the course I made a friend we shall call Sara. At first we did not really interact very much, but then we were assigned to a project and pretty soon got to know each other very well. We discovered we lived fairly close to each other in adjacent neighborhoods. We also realized we had quite a bit in common. So, Sara and I became fast friends. Similarities notwithstanding; she had a couple of kids, but was single at the time. I, on the other hand was married. Even after the course was completed, we visited each other’s homes and remained friends.

I fondly remember sitting in class with Sara and she would randomly make a passing comment that was totally unrelated to what was being taught by the instructor. She frequently sauntered into the classroom a few minutes late and casually took her seat, unperturbed by the fact she was late and people were staring. Sara never seemed to let life get her down, even when times were not very good. I discovered long after we met, that during that period, she had broken up with her kids’ father and was going through some personal struggles. You really would not have known. She lived life with ‘joie de vivre.’ I really admired that about her. Long after that course, I remember us driving around in her car in an upscale neighborhood, searching for the home of a very famous celebrity who had moved there. She knew the area well because an old boyfriend of hers had also lived there. That’s the kind of spontaneous thing she and I would do, or rather she would do. I just went along and might I say….had fun doing so.

She moved to another city years later and we eventually lost touch with each other. Lately, I think of those early years and Sara sometimes crosses my mind. I wonder if going through life, not worrying, or seeming not to, allows you to be a happier person and live a more stress free and balanced life. I have always been a worrier. Maybe having a disposition similar to the ‘Saras’ of the world simplifies life. I knew of some of her troubles because she was a pretty open person. However, Sara generally kept her worries out of sight and did not wear her heart on her sleeve. Regardless of what she was going through, she knew how to have fun. She strode through life looking like she had not a care in the world and it worked for her. We were similar in the sense; we both never gave up, even when life threw us curve balls. In the end, I think that’s what matters….keep it moving, even when it seems obstacles keep getting in your way. Get up each day, thank God for another day of life, and hope for a brighter future. Eventually, you will get there, one day at a time.