‘MOVED’ EXCLUSIVE COLUMN BY EMILIE GOLDBLUM

PASSIONATE

ABOUT TRUTH AND CREATIVITY For me, starting a family has become about being a part of a bond that is bigger than myself and I get to have the shared privilege and responsibility of playing a pivotal role in laying the foundations of truth, courage and passion for our young boys so that they can grow into adult men who will (hopefully) contribute to society.

"What I hope to accomplish in writing this column is to open up conversations around embracing our diversity in every aspect of our humanity.”

We are not all meant to be the same in shape, size or in our points of view because we’ve all developed distinctive perspectives born out of our lived experiences. What I hope to accomplish in writing this column is to open up conversations around embracing our diversity in every aspect of our humanity and to be a supporter of the truth that is based in science, history, and empirical evidence. I love playing make believe and pretending to live in a fantasy world but I think it’s of paramount importance to be honest with myself and to be able to draw distinctive boundaries between what is real and what is phantasmagorical. People and their stories have always inspired me and I turn to books (currently biographies and poetry) to become aware of what life was like in other times and to learn about different cultures. To me it feels crucial for coexistence, health, gratitude, and the ability to contribute to a thriving global community.

I read fables to my two very playful boys that I was taught by my french grandparents from well known French fabulist, Jean De La Fontaine. Although we all know that fables are not real, their stories can become important life lessons for our children. My kids’ favorite fable at the moment is La Cigale et La Fourmi by La Fontaine (The Ant and the Grasshopper by Aesop). They like to listen to the story in the car on their way to school and they have me read it to them during their story time before going to sleep. We’ve noticed that there are many different versions of this tale. In one variation, the moral of the story has to do with the work ethic and planning for the future. In other adaptations the themes extend to compassion and charity. My instinct is to keep explaining to my boys the difference between reality and fairy tales (ogres, unicorns, santa-claus, etc.). I want to forever encourage their wild creativity AND expose their minds to factual information in hopes of providing them with a balanced approach to living a healthy life. Just now I’m flashing on the quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still maintain the ability to function”. ∎ EMILIE GOLDBLUM

Olympian, Maison Goldblum Stretch Movement Coach & Mother
 www.awarenessties.us/emilie-goldblum My life has been dedicated to mastering my skills in stretch fitness even before I knew it. Since competing at the 2000 Olympic Games in Rhythmic Gymnastics I always focused on intuitively creating warm-up and strength training routines for my own body that focused on stretching our big muscle groups while strengthening our micro muscles for healthy joints and long and supple muscles that kept me injury free. Now I've taken all my years of training to create classes for every BODY that are offered online.

29 AWARENOW / THE MAYDAY EDITION

www.IamAwareNow.com