About two miles from home this morning I inadvertently kicked a pebble up and it somehow made its way into my shoe. I was quite annoyed because it made its way into the toe area of my shoe and was very irritating.
My first thought was to stop and take my shoe off and get the pebble out. For some reason I paid no attention to this thought and just kept running. I began to rationalize the pain it was causing by saying it is only minor and that I have less than two miles before I get home. "It was my fault, I should have been more careful." I can get it out when I get home. I did not want to stop what I was doing, even though it would have taken less than five seconds to remove this irritant. I ran on trying not think about the pesky pebble and the pain it was causing.
I started thinking about how this happens in real life. Sometimes we have small pebbles in our shoes or even large boulders in our pockets and packs and we fail to take them out. We have the power to remove them, but we choose instead to suffer through the pain.
Sometimes these pebbles or boulders are the leftover feelings for guilt or inadequacies that come from the failures of life. I find it interesting that we still see failure as a bad thing. Failure is normal. We have all failed at various things and will continue to fail as we go through life. Failing at something does not make you a failure, it just means that you still have something to learn or an area to develop. Some of the most successful people I have met have a history of more failures than successes. The difference is that they learned how to let it go. They unpacked the boulders and removed the pebbles from their shoes and move forward.
All it really means to fail is that we tried something that did not work. It really doesn't matter what it was we tried or how big we messed it up. What matters is that we continue to move forward each and every day, without looking back.
I love the movie The Lion King. There is a part in the movie when Simba, who is supposed to be the King but he is running from his past, is confronted by Rafique. Rafique hits him with his staff and Simba says "ouch, what was that for," Wise Rafique responds, "It doesn't matter it is in the past." Simba said, "but it hurt." To which Rafique replies, "sometimes the past hurts."
To really grasp the future we must let go of the past. Even though the past may hurt, it can not be changed.
Look in your pack. Check your shoes. Are there boulders and pebbles that need to be removed? Get them out while you can and through them along the side of the road. It will lighten your load and you will feel better.
See you on the road!
Andrew
