At 7:14am on Saturday my upstairs neighbor began hammering something – seemingly into the ground (i.e., my ceiling). It was as if a dark cloud passed overhead and blocked the sun right out of my Saturday morning in all its glory. No plans, nowhere to be. All I wanted to do was bask in the light, doze in and out of sleep, maybe catch up on some shows. This is what dreams are made of.
But no.
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG.
At 7:22am I got an email from my dad (texting isn’t his thing – more on that later). He was looking for my blog. Like you, dear reader, he wanted to check it out. I sent him the link and told him about my neighbors who were HAMMERING something very LOUDLY. I was about to lose it – I told him my Saturday zen was “like nowhere to be found. Very sad.”
My dad’s response (it’s too good to paraphrase):
“Your Saturday zen is telling you to get up, get outside & enjoy the beautiful, peaceful & quiet morning.”
And just like that, the light of the sun suddenly started shining from behind the cloud (of hammering) and the silver lining was coming into view.
I got up, put on some workout clothes, grabbed my beach chair, a towel, a water, my book, some sunnies, my wireless speaker, my phone, a jump rope, and a 20lb medicine ball. And to the beach I went (only slightly struggling carrying all of these things).
I did my workout at the beach (circuit training, full body) and afterword sat there and marveled at the beauty, the peace, and the quiet.
If it weren’t for my neighbors’ heinous Saturday morning home improvement endeavors, I probably wouldn’t have made it down to the beach for my workout. And if it weren’t for my dad’s perfectly timed email, I likely would’ve missed the silver lining altogether.
Note to self: the silver lining is always there; sometimes it’s just harder to see (or hear, if there's copious amounts of hammering going on).
Also: if your workout can be done outside (particularly at the beach), always opt outside.