EnJOY the Walk

Have you ever been on a hike - or driving to a new place - and felt like it took FOR-E-VER to reach your destination; but then, on the trip back, it seemed to go SO MUCH FASTER?!?!?  I have! ALL. THE. TIME.  Why?  Because the anxiety of the unknown in front of you is so consuming.  But when you come back, that anxiety is gone.  You are headed to something familiar.

The problem is in the post-trip experience.  How often do you remember the markers you passed on the way?  What feelings and smells and sounds and images come to mind when you think of the trip into that destination point?  For me, a lot gets lost in the anxiety of the unknown road ahead and wanting to just get there, just BE there, not wondering how much further or what obstacles (traffic jams, road construction, T's in the road that could take me the wrong direction, nightfall) I will face in the process.
 
Today I read a friend's post on Facebook about how her little boy just said his first two-word sentence.  It not only made me smile, but it reminded me of so many days when I find myself mentioning to my husband a connection one of the kids made that really impressed me or taught me something about what they think about.  Or I find myself telling him about how much they have changed in just a few weeks in really BIG ways, ways that you might miss if you weren't watching, listening, tuning into their "childspeak," and really just PAYING ATTENTION.

And it also reminded me of how many days I went the entire day without noticing a thing, ANXIOUS to just get through it.

On "My Fair Lady," Freddy sings, "I have often walked down your street before, but the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before. All at once am I several stories high, knowing I'm on the street where YOU live!" How often we walk the exact same street . . . every. single. day. No variation. No new horizon. No curves to have anxiety about, or maybe so many curves that all we feel at times is anxiety. :-)  

But for each of us, that daily road can take on new meaning as we remember what is happening along it, just as Freddy did.  ANY "street" at any time can be the street of your dreams, given the right perspective.

Be the road ahead uncertain or be it familiar -- be it a trail through the forest, a country road, a city road, the mall, the road leading to work, the road to the park, or wherever else your feet may lead you -- there are millions of things to see and discover and enJOY along the way.

And the roads of a child's life, a child's mind, a child's experiences, and a child's memories are even more amazing.

But both require you to stop. Quiet the anxiety. Look up instead of down at your feet.  See the straight road that leads to the curve and not just the curve that lies ominously ahead of you or the pebbles and cracks you are worried about stumbling over along the journey.

And ENJOY the WALK!