Blessed be the Flexible, for they Shall Not Get Bent Out of Shape

I'm not sure where I first saw that quote - I think it was Ashleigh Brilliant - but it's always been a guiding light for me. Flexibility, both in body and in mind, are essential for a happy life. 

Flexibility of Body

When we first started living on the Villa Vie Odyssey, I was excited that there was a morning stretch class every morning. It is included as an amenity with our monthly maintenance fees. All I had to do is walk down the hall, up two flights of stairs and plop down on a mat. No gym membership, no getting in a car and driving to the gym, so convenient.
Did I go?
Wellllll .... once or twice in the first couple weeks, then I got sidetracked with so many other things and it was months before I saw the inside of the fitness center again. Then, last week I got myself up in time for the 8am class and I did it! I felt SO good after, and I was SO productive all day long! I credit the stretches for opening up the flow of energy in my body. It was so pronounced that I determined then and there that I would go to stretch class more often. Not every day, that would set myself up for failure, but 2 or 3 times a week would be great. Now it is one week later - and I've been 3 times! Oh Boy!

Having a flexible body means that it bends to trauma rather than breaking. For example, when I step on the stairs wrong and my ankle twists all the way over. Sure it hurts, it may even throb for a few days, but there was no permanent damage because good stretch classes focus on every part, including ankles, making sure the tendons stretch so that they don't tear.

The Fitness Center at our home, the Residential Cruise Ship: Villa Vie Odyssey

Flexibility of Mind

Maybe it's because of the way I was raised, but I've never been one to be upset when plans change. Plans? What plans? 😊Before reaching High School, I lived in 5 different states, and they weren't nearby states: Tennessee, Hawaii, Washington, Alaska, Florida. And that doesn't count the many months spent on the road traveling from place to place, or just plain traveling. When I was in third grade we lived in Alaska but took a 6-month RV trip to Guatemala and back.

This mental fexibility serves me well in my current life on a residential cruise ship. I hate making plans, so it's delightful that someone else is doing all that work. I just get to wake up in the morning and look out the window and then at my Google Maps to see where I am today! Singapore? Great, let's go see the Gardens by the Bay, Tarempa Indonesia? Uhh, never heard of it - let's go see. Not stopping in Puerto Princessa after all? Darn, I wanted to go snorkeling in a spot that others recommended. Oh well, now our line dancing group will all be on board for the sea day instead and we can learn a new dance.

Sometimes when things are falling apart they may actually be falling into place