Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Day 3

A warm rain-free walk tonight. I did my same route and feel comfortable with the familiarity of it. I can almost predict when I'll need to stop for relief.

Someone reminded me: "Dare not to compare" when I walk. A tall order. And it's the first thing I do. I know people who run marathons, for pity's sake. And I'm trying to walk a mile.

But ultimately I know, deep down, that comparing myself to others takes me away from myself. When I judge myself against someone else's standards, abilities, or values, I don't own my own. I know I limit myself further by allowing others to be my barometer for success. Besides, it makes me crazy. One minute I compare myself to this person, the next minute to that person. It's much easier and saner to just be myself.

Confucius said that a Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Well, these are my steps. My limpy, gimpy, sometimes painful steps. I don't think I'll walk a thousand miles, but even my 'one mile' starts with one of my steps. No one else can do this for me and no one else can do it the way I can. I need to embrace and accept my steps, no matter what they look like - or how they feel - as good enough for now. They'll get less painful; they'll get more fluid. But if I don't accept how I walk right now, I'll never improve.

So, from here on out, when I find I'm comparing myself to the able-bodied, beautifully sleek, athletic bodies out there, I'll instead focus on what I've got. One hell of a unique body. And I'll be grateful I can walk at all.

2 comments:

  1. I am loving your blog: your message and your way of expressing it. I agree that we need to honorwhere we are in order to even begin our own journey. Thank you for sharing yours out loud. blessings, ceci

    ReplyDelete
  2. So insightful, Colleen. Congratulations on your feats---walking and blogging every day. Your entries are beautiful.

    ReplyDelete