The other day I was working out in the gym and I came across a note tucked into my workout log book. I had never seen it before. I don’t know if it was meant for me, or if it had been there for a while and I hadn’t noticed it. My workout book used to be my mother’s. It was given to me by my sister, and I have been using it to track my workouts. I had removed all my mothers notes, and had only kept a picture of her on the inside cover of the book. I don’t know if that note was there from the past, or written for me in the present, but when I read it, in the middle of my workout, it made me cry. Right there, in the middle of the weight room, in the middle of a set of burpees. I don’t know who wrote it, but I know that I was meant to read it.

It read:

“As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn’t supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more then once and it’s harder every time. You’ll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You’ll fight with your best friend. You’ll blame a new love for things an old one did. You’ll cry because time is passing too fast, and you’ll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you’ve never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you’ll never get back. Don’t be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin.”

I don’t know why it was in there, but I know that I was meant to read it, no matter how it got there.

Life is weird like that.

And now I pass the message onto you. The words are not mine, but the message is clear and meaningful. Life is too short for resentment. When things look like they can’t get any worse, something happens that makes you realize, the the depths of your despair, that life is beautiful. Things get better, and you learn from your hardships. The most important thing is to cherish those little moments that make you laugh, or smile. Making sure that as hard as things get, you don’t close your eyes and miss the good times. Because as fleeting as life is, those little moments of joy, where time stands still, are the ones that keep you going.

So to the person that wrote this note. Thank you. Thank you for that little moment where time stood still, in the middle of the gym floor, when I was crying like a baby in the middle of my burpees. That is what life is all about.