Momentum, your journey to freedom:

“Momentum for me has always been a journey, a life journey that is made up of many fragmented life choices. Lao Tsu wrote in the Dao De Jing “a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step” and so it is with our lives and what we want to get out of it. It all starts with a single choice, a choice that is in our power to make.

The journey that brought me to starting momentum was a vulnerable one, a pathway of a lot of personal struggles and seeing people I loved around me also fighting their own life battles, trying to grasp the meaning of all this mess we call life. When my father passed away after struggling with severe heart problems and diabetes I started this journey asking the question: What can I do differently from my dad, to avoid the same fate? I knew it was all down to my choices and yet choosing the right path has proven to be one of the hardest feats for us humans.

Time and time again, we are confronted with the dilemma of what to choose? What is right? I want to uphold high moral stoic virtues and to pursue what is right and just. This question haunts me constantly: will I fulfil my destiny? How will I reflect back on my life when I’m lying on my deathbed? What legacy will I leave behind? How will I leave the ones I love and my community?

Momentum Resilience Life started for me as an attempt to find myself and others on a similar journey wanting to excel and live a full purposeful life, and helping others along the way. We know we are stronger when we work together. It feels to me that the meaning we seek is not to be found in some philosophical or transcendental pathway, though I don’t want to deny anyone from such pursuits, quite the opposite, yet for me, the meaning of life is to be found in the everyday micro-moments and decisions that support our values and beliefs and are congruent to ourselves. Those are responsible for our actions and ultimately may take us to our desired destination, albeit life is never a straight line, we can still hope we are moving forward closer to our goals.?

How do we live a full and happy healthy life? How do we get unstuck and move on in the different areas of our lives? How to thrive in our relationships? How can I regain my fitness, eat healthily, move and enjoy nature? Johnson and I started a journey of exploration on all these themes that have led us to where we are today, still in our second or third step (a long way from a thousand), and with our team, we are walking a long journey of self-discovery at the same time experiencing what it is to live or share in community.?

One of my favourite quotes of all time is from Viktor Frankl - “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” That is the journey to freedom we are pursuing.

We are living in very difficult times - times of great unrest and uncertainties. We see dark clouds looming on the horizon. What can we do? We barely left the pandemic and now war, hyperinflation, recession, food crisis, energy crisis, you name it, what can we do? It reminds me of a dialogue between Frodo and Gandalf in the Fellowship of the Ring.

“I wish it didn't happen in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

And so it is with every single one of us, that we have the power to decide what to do with the time given to us. We are here and we are alive and breathing, so we can still choose to live life in the time allocated to us. We can choose to be hopeful, to practice good deeds and display values, we can meet others with goodness and kindness, we can still believe in better days, and we can work towards it. It takes courage with vulnerability, determination with humility to live a resilient life, still it is well worth it.

We should not see our suffering or struggle as useless, we can find a purpose even in the midst of it and then it becomes a challenge. One thing that I am learning every day: the mission is bigger than the pain. Resilient people have a common purpose and a goal of freedom, happiness and fulfilment.?

Remember, we can all be heroes as Bowie sang, even if just for one day…”

Contributed by Andy De Lima.?

Hello Momentum community! We wanted to share with you this week some personal insights from Andy there about why he felt called to build Momentum Resilient Life with Dr Johnson Tam-Lit. So a big thank you to Andy for being so open and vulnerable with us.?

If you want to start your own Momentum journey, we have a free downloadable 21 Day Resilience Journal available on our website! You can then head to our Instagram to watch both Andy and Johnson going through the journal individually, and watch their experience.

And lastly we want to say our hearts go out to those struggling with the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second. Loss of any kind can bring up a range of emotions and all emotions are valid. As Momentum we are here for you all.?