Things are not as they appear
Day #2 of the Blogging Challenge is to write about where I was born. That’s not very interesting but leaving Los Angeles when I was 6 years old was!
I remember a few things about Los Angeles — it was flat and dry with avocados growing in the back yard and hummingbirds patrolling the front.
The move to Northern California changed everything! I was transported from a city of millions, to a turn-out on the highway with a gas station, grocery story and post office. Good-bye sidewalks! Life in this isolated part of California was heaven; with trees to climb and mountain trails to explore. It also included a new thing called winter.
When we arrived I took my first step outside, my feet flew in the air and I was suddenly on the ground. No big deal. Falls happen sometimes when you’re 6; except it happened again, and again, and again.
The more I tried to walk using the same skills that had worked on the flat dry sidewalks of LA, the more time I spent on the ground. It was one fall after another! The strategy that had always worked for me had stopped working. I kept trying and I kept falling!
Dad came to the rescue with a new strategy – the leaves are not as they appear so learn a new way to walk. If I would assume the leaves were slippery and start a step with my knees bent slightly, I could catch my balance rather than have my feet slip out from under me. It worked, and off I went with a new nickname – the mountain goat.
Here is what I learned from the leaves interpreted for adults. They serve me well today and may help you when life seems to be changing right under your feet. Or as one of my clients says “it feels like I’m walking on jello.”
- Things are not always as they appear. Get curious and try a new strategy. What else could be going on beneath what your eyes and ears show you?
- Assume there will be change so keep your knees bent, your mind open and adapt easily – resistance is where the suffering starts.
- Lighten up! Where was it ever written that adults are excused from being beginners? Give yourself the gift of compassion.
The popular personal development books call these qualities agile intelligence, resilience and adaptability, to name a few. Whatever the name, they are required for success and happiness in a world that bombards us with change. As I walk through the leaves this fall I plan to remind myself that being a beginner only feels uncomfortable because it’s new. It doesn’t last long and the rewards are priceless.
I would love to hear how you greet that awkward feeling of being a beginner? What are the rewards?
Thank you so much for your comments.
LOL. Yes, that first day of school is a big one for a lot of us. It’s great to give our adult selves that same permission to be curious about new things – even the ones we may not prefer. There’s always an opportunity.
As far as beginnings. This reminds me of the anticipation of the first day of school. The new clothes you bye, the new school supplies, and who will be in your class that year. It’s all very exciting and new. It gives me the hope that I would meet a new friend or learn something new. I remember the smells of fall approaching and the color of the leaves changing. The anticipation of change brought me a new curiosity.