Pebble in Your Shoe

I live by a fairly large county forest preserve that I really enjoy. I have been walking, running and biking its gentle series of meandering trails for several years. It cuts along an expansive marsh, fields of multicolored wildflowers, still lakes and native prairie grasses that dance in the breeze. Of course there are requisite trees of various sizes and shapes that dot the landscape and bring perspective and contours to a very flat horizon. Not at all hilly but after all it is Illinois. There are plenty of little critters and birds that I can’t name and even once in a while I can hear the occasional screeching of a red tail hawk or the whining engine of semi hurtling down a nearby highway, a muted reminder that reality is ever present. Nothing says serenity like a diesel!

Anyway, I started walking more rigorously and regularly a few months ago to tune up for an upcoming backpacking trip. It is the only way I can stay in some kind of shape now that I can’t run. I need to build up a modest bit of endurance so my compadres don’t leave me for the wolves, which I believe they would do if I lagged behind. Few know this backpacking secret but it is a strategy to have at least one laggard in a party. Unbeknownst to that poor soul, they represent the weak member of a herd with the unfortunate purpose of diverting predators from the rest. So the whole rule about falling behind is taken seriously with my crew, especially in bear country!

Anyway, I am at a pretty good clip and can complete the circuit in a lot quicker time then when I started. Working up a sweat on a sunny morning is my idea of a good time. On one of my recent hikes, I alas, realized something was missing. Since I couldn’t finger it, I pressed on, not to be deterred. Along the way, I met a young athletic woman named Barbara Bond, “as in James” she said. I notice Barbara because she was walking toward me carrying a little notebook making entries as she went. I couldn’t help but ask “why”? As it turns out, she runs the trail numerous times and never realized how pretty it was. So Barbara wanted to change it up by dressing in civilian clothes, walking slowly and noticing what she was running past. I thought that was great and told her so. Interestingly enough, I asked her if she saw the nice patch of fragrant pines that she must have just passed. We parted and went our opposite ways. I walked a little further thinking of my pleasant encounter with Barbara and anticipating coming upon that stretch of pines I touted. Then it dawned on me. I had already passed it and didn’t even notice. That made me think. How could I possibly miss it? I would always catch their fresh fragrance before reaching them. It was an enjoyable water stop under the shade, looking up and admiring the deep green symmetrical needles and the contrasting tan cones.

Evidently, something was lost. Even though I gained speed and endurance, I lost what I found walking at a beginner’s pace.

Moral of the story? It is good to have a pebble in your shoe. A mere pebble can interrupt your stride. You need to slow, find a place to stop and get the pebble out so you can continue the journey. In that time, you may pause and look around at the scenery and the things that you missed. Even when you are improving areas of your life and trying to better your self, you may not be paying attention to what perhaps got you there. These are the things that helped you through the discomfort of starting something new; distracting you from the rough spots and help you enjoy your initial successes.

Everyone needs to now and then get an “interruption”. What ever that might be …. comment from a peer, a minor defeat, something didn’t go as planned. Such interruptions causes you to stop, regroup, rethink your strategy, get back on the trail and maybe this time you will reconnect with those things you overlooked …… those things that developed you ….. those things that got you where you are.

Oh yah, I forgot to mention … that patch of pines was a welcome shelter during a sudden rain shower. Hhhmmmm!!