Monday, January 02, 2006

Paying Attention

On my walk this morning I literally stumbled on something I hadn't noticed before. I was walking past the house I first knew up until the time I was 10 - at which point we moved to a different district. I guess I must have had my head down at just the right moment. What I discovered was that two sections of the sidewalk had recently been replaced with fresh, new concrete. I thought to myself, "Sad, really. This sidewalk is no longer 'original'". All the way home I had this consciousness about the slots between the concrete blocks that made up the sidewalk. My strides were such that I seemed to land on each one. I varied my step slightly so that my step would land on the block, not on the slot. Then what happened? Just when I thought I had the pace down, the size of block changed. Crap. So, time to adjust. By the time I reached home it hit me like a ton of bricks - which, by the way would have been more of a challenge to walk on if I wanted to avoid the cracks.

Walking on the sidewalk, adjusting my pace to accommodate the terrain, is much like a healthy way to live life. When the environment or circumstances change, best to make adjustments. It occurred to me that for years I have remained rigid in my approach - trying to hold fast to ways and means that at one time worked well for me. Maybe this is the year for me to break out of my shell - try something fresh and new.

4 comments:

Sarah Elaine said...

Reminds me of a game (of sorts) we used to play as kids, chanting, "Step on a crack, break your mother's back!" The objective, of course, was not to step on any cracks in the sidewalks.

Maybe kids in the Maritimes were more barbaric than our Western counterparts and you didn't play that game here. :-)

Interesting metaphor with life you've drawn here. You've given me lots to think about for the day... along with the piles of work waiting for me on my desk today!

Andrea said...

WOW! That is an interesting metaphor.
Even better that you saw this in yourself. Good luck in this new year.

Granny said...

Sarah beat me to "step on a crack".

It is a lot to think about. I'll be interested to keep up with your journey.

Turtle Guy said...

ah, all those childhood games... we were such tyrants, weren't we! The barbaric nature of the "fun" stuff we did... remember collecting caterpillars? I walk by the very tree we used to collect them from almost every day... cruel, really... containing them to glass jars and boxes full of leaves and twigs... let's see... take them out of their natural environment, place them in a pseudo environment and wait for them to live out their lives... what a hobby!

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Calgary, Alberta, Canada
English student, Pottery enthusiast, Yoga novice and lover of all people. I make friends over a warm handshake and a beverage. I discover, every day, someone willing to help me along my path.