Sing like no one is listening. Love like you’ve never been hurt. Dance like nobody’s watching, and live like it’s heaven on earth.” – Mark Twain

One year ago, we were locked down in Bali.

We were living in a small house at a silent hotel right on the edge of the deep green jungle.

Late every evening, when the thick warm night drifted down from the volcano and covered our village in a sultry blanket, two big monkeys would land on our roof with a thump, and use it as a playground. They scampered, tumbled, wrestled and screeched with delight. Bill would smile, glance at his watch and announce: “It’s monkey playtime!”

We laughed. We were happy, and could never quite believe the fates had placed us here in such a foreign land. We were the only two guests staying at the hotel, and the gentle, kind and quiet Balinese staff treated us as if we were their family. They were very sympathetic to our situation of being far from our country.

They sincerely wanted us to feel like we were at home.

As the months went by, almost every morning they brought us gorgeous exotic flowers on long stems – birds of paradise with bright orange heads that looked like the beaks of tropical birds. There were the elegant, palette-shaped crimson spathes of Anthurium flowers, and blazing red ginger flowers with flame-like shapes formed from quivering, tender petals.

The staff didn’t need to buy them, they just cut them from the lush bushes growing at the edge of the hotel grounds. They brought them early in the morning while we slept, and simply put them next to our door. Sometimes, the stems were as tall as I was. It was always with breathless surprise that I walked out into the shafts of sunlight falling through the jungle canopy and was greeted by these wild and elegant flowers amid the calls of unknown birds.

It was a gesture of kindness, and we found it very touching.

One day I held a new bouquet and felt a pang of regret.

“Nina, why didn’t you buy a more attractive vase than we have here at the hotel? You love flowers, and enjoy looking at them. How is it possible that during four long months of living here you didn’t do it?

Because … I thought we would be here for a short period of time, that this was all temporary and that we would leave Bali any day.“

I believe that this is an attitude that can affect our lives so badly. We think: when we have a better house, then we will decorate it; when we find our dream job, then we will show our talents; when we find a partner, then we will be happy.

Instead of living as beautifully and as fully as we can every day, we postpone improving things, sometimes for years.

I went to a pottery shop and bought an elegant turquoise glass vase I liked.

I thought, “Even if we have to leave tomorrow, the other guests will enjoy it.”

The pandemic taught us many things. One of them is not to postpone your life, not to wait for the better time to come.

Put on your best dress, tuck a red flower behind your ear like the Balinese do, and smile and dance on the white sand with your friends!

Life is now! Let’s live it fully and with wonder in our hearts! Every day of it!

Nina London is a certified wellness and weight-management coach. Her mission is to support and inspire mature women to make positive changes in their body and mind. Share your inspirational stories with her at www.ninalondon.com