Day 43: A Beautiful Day

Day 43.  I have completely let anything related to fitness go by the way side since the beginning of the year.  I must remedy that.  I’ve been inspired by joie de vivre friend and her beautiful new bride.  They are going to Pilates together this morning.  Besides being adorable newlyweds, they are healthy.  They are happy.  They are glowing.  I’ll have what they’re having.  So, I announce to them in an email they have motivated me to do yoga and go for a walk before I come over to their house to finalize the postcard for the motivation experiment.  Despite my best intentions, I don’t do one downward dog or even remotely elevate my heart rate.  I am sidetracked by feedback I have just received on the mock-ups and I begin tweaking the language.  Two hours later, I’m too excited about this experiment in motivation to be mad at myself as I drive over the hill.  Of course, I look like a total ass when I arrive and they both ask me how yoga was.  “Didn’t do it,” I compulsively confess.

A beautiful day.

The afternoon is filled with amazing conversation, delicious jasmine tea and incredibly generous creativity and collaboration from my hosts.  Beautiful new bride suggests adding a little color to make them pop.  She’s beautiful and brilliant.  I’m not just being nice.  She’s like got her PhD.  Joie de vivre friend works her magic with Photoshop.  I marvel at her skills.  After many printouts and bolding and un-bolding, we all agree the postcards are done and they’re awesome.  The order is put in.  The dogs are restless upstairs and the cat wants back in—my allergies have her temporarily displaced.  It’s time for me to go.  I reluctantly put down my teacup and pack up my things.  Brilliant beautiful new bride says a few times, “what a beautiful day.”  She’s being literal.  It’s a fantastic SoCal sunny and 70-degree day.

As I hug my friends goodbye, I am struck by how lucky I am—rain or shine.  Although I have no idea what the response to this experimental motivation project is going to be, I know it’s already a gift.  It has brought me closer to two incredibly creative and talented women and I’ve managed to glean a hint of health, happiness and glow from them in the process.  And I didn’t even have to workout!  Yes.  What a beautiful day.

Until tomorrow, create from what you have…the gift of another beautiful day—regardless of the weather.

Kelli Joan Bennett is a filmmaker, actress, writer, entrepreneur, advocate for creative thinking and Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Think Outside The Box Inside The Box Media.

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