There are times in our lives when we recognize how much our purpose and efforts are worth the work we put in. I’m sharing this story in hopes that it resonates with some and provides value on the importance of mental and physical fitness.
Last week I had the joy of joining my 87 year-young, healthy, independent mother to meet her 8th great grandchild. We took an uneventful trip on our favorite airline @Delta and arrived excited to see family and enjoy the weekend. On the way out of the airport I recall asking mom if she wanted to take the elevator and her saying she preferred to use the escalator. The next thing I remember is hearing a scream and turning around to see my mom coming head-first down the escalator.
While it all felt like a chaotic blur, what is etched in my memory is how quickly people stepped into action to attempt to get the escalator shut down and an amazing human that scooped mom up to get her before we were at the bottom. I never had a chance to properly thank him and the others that helped gather her things up and ensure we were being properly cared for by the medical team at the @Atlantaairport. I’m hopeful they know what heroes they were to us that day. We are so thankful that she is alive and, other than some deep wounds and other miscellaneous issues, doing ok.
Looking back, I want to share a few insights into what helped me to manage this very stressful event.
- The ability to respond rather than react.
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- Pausing, (even for a few seconds), allowed me time to evaluate the situation and then act upon the information by processing it before possibly recklessly reacting.
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- Time to calm my own nervous system down.
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- In doing so I was able to allow the professionals the ability to do their job while also giving my mother confidence that we were being cared for which helped to manage her stress.
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- Appreciating the power of physical fitness.
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- Having been in the fitness business for over 40 years, my mom was motivated to keep physically fit and had been working out since her 50’s. That might have been how she miraculously escaped with no broken bones!
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- The importance of a regular gratitude practice.
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- It’s easy to find all of the things that are painful physically, emotionally and mentally when things get out of control. Having a consistent gratitude practice allowed me to focus on what I have rather than what I could have lost. For all of us it may be a bit different but from my experience, gratitude reminded me what could have happened and find peace in that.
Consider this…..
HOW FULL IS YOUR MENTAL AND PHYSICAL TOOLBOX
WHEN THE UNEXPECTED OCCURS?
