Keep Looking for Sunshine You Will Find It

 Keep Looking for Sunshine
You Will Find It
By Paul Skuza
I recently discovered the musical "Hamilton'' and have been immersed in the soundtrack over the past month. One lyric that reoccurs in the production is, "Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now." Although the story takes over 200 years ago, hearing those words over and over, I cannot help but think how that outlook is as true today as it was back then. Ultimately, a lot of it is about perspective. Whether it be a battle with a global superpower for a nation's independence or surviving a pandemic, you can make an argument that  this is a recurring theme in life. With all of life's challenges ,we can live in gratitude. The question is, which do we want to focus our energy on?
Before I go any further I want to  clear that I have  also been frustrated with all things related to this pandemic. I am  saddened to see or hear about people getting sick and dying here and all over the world. I truly miss seeing family and friends due to isolation and this pandemic. My professional world has been turned upside down.. I am  in the health and wellness industry and pandemic has had an impact. I have been disappointed with inconsistencies and ever-changing restrictions. It has been a very difficult year to say the least.
 I can have an "all or nothing" mentality, but also believe  that it is possible to struggle and still find  good in whatever situation I am in. Throughout my career as a health and fitness professional, I have enjoyed going to work every day and making positive connections with people,hoping to influence the environment for the better. Covid-19 restrictions have made that much more challenging. For the past six months, our facilities have been closed to the pandemic. There were some extremely difficult decisions to be made and challenges to overcome. Reflecting on the past year, I admit that there have been many lows. At the same time, there was a ton of positive work done. For that I am grateful.  
I want to share some of the amazing projects and accomplishments our organzation has done to help fulfill the mission of building healthy communities. Some of which I have been fortunate to be involved in directly. Not having direct interaction,  contact with our members or connecting with people in our centres, we took to the virtual platform to connect and help address a need for home fitness and social interaction. There are now multiple live classes daily available to members, dozens of prerecorded workouts, online coaching, and more. These programs have all been accessible to everyone free of charge in an effort to help keep our members engaged and motivated to a path of physical health. I have been grateful to lead some virtual workouts through facebook live, zoom, and youtube. Online platforms may not feel the same  as the real deal in person experience. It is definitely the next best thing and has been a ton of fun . We are  staying connected with our members. Staying connected is important. As the weather changes  and restrictions loosen, we hope to return  to outdoor classes and workouts, as we did last year. It was  very well received and our members enjoy it. Teaching classes to smiling faces on green grass with the sun and sky in the background is actually a fitness experience hard to beat in my opinion.
 You might be able to tell by now, I am a fitness Coach.  I have always incorporated exercise as a part of my lifestyle and have  a passion for wellness. I have a strong background in sports and football. I am aware and always want to share with others the positive benefits  that exercise can have  on mental and emotional health.  I know it is not the only component to wellness, but an effective way to assist in managing mental and emotional health and stress.  The YMCA believes in this principle as well. We are more  than just a gym. We are a wellness community.
 My  colleagues started a program to deliver food and essential supplies to families in low-income neighbourhoods. We are talking about hundreds of packages delivered weekly during this pandemic and  lockdown to those who need it most. This was at no charge to families. We delivered complimentary flowers and exercise bands to hundreds of older adults in our communities. Our goal was to engage with the older population and attempt to brighten their day. We recognize that Senoirs are impacted by this pandemic and wanted to serve this part of our community. Other health and fitness centres around the association came up with new ways to support the community by offering  the use of our showers to medical professionals and front line workers  after their shift before returning home. We also have had many food and clothing drives, and offer the gymnasium as overnight shelter to the homeless population every night during extreme cold temperatures this past winter. Child care centres, before and after school programs have also been putting in great  effort to make sure children in our day care centres are in a safe environment. Summer camp programs were modified but still took place and gave kids a chance to experience a lot of the same wonderful opportunities that help campers develop social skills. Our charity work continued at every level and significant money was raised through generous donations from members and sponsors. I was honoured to help lead a virtual "SWEAT for strong kids'' event that raised over $100,000, and that was just one event! Hundreds of thousands more were raised to help more people access programs that can help them on their health and wellness journey. Grants were secured to make significant (and much needed) building improvements at several locations.
The list honestly goes on and continues to do so as I write this. Being directly involved in some of the work has been a privilege. Thinking about some of the great things that are being done throughout our communities by great people  including the YMCA is inspiring. I truly believe that it is okay to feel frustrated at this time and it is causing  stress but it is important to be  grateful. Having a positive outlook can take us a long way. Throughout human history you can make a strong argument that there is a constant.  Life  will be tough! We need to finish STRONG! In the words from the play Hamilton, "Dying is easy young man, living is harder"