As I was hiking a new trail this past weekend, I had to remind myself “one foot in front of the other.”
You see with new trails come new wonders to behold – flowers, trees, streams, squirrels, mushrooms, birds, bugs, you name it. So much to take in! But it also includes tree roots that are easy to stumble upon.
Case in point: last August I was doing a trail run that I have done for years – first with our dog Tank (but I usually ended up carrying him to the finish line) and then with our dog Isis – who loves to run! I was so excited to be back on the trail after missing the prior year, and I told myself NO running, just walking. I know, you guessed it, I got caught up in the moment and started running as Isis joyfully led the way. She got overly rambunctious as we crested a hill, and down I went. Tripping on God knows what, landing/sliding on all fours. Initially I thought I was okay as other runners helped me up, but when the blood started trickling down my knee, I knew the damage was worse than I thought. Very long story short, I ended up with a hole in my left knee and a visit to the hospital to stitch it up.
After that incident my hubby is always wary of me hitting the trail by myself – but now the promise of NO running is truly a promise. Knee trauma is a long, long healing process I don’t wish to revisit. However, I do have my falls from time to time, usually something slippery on a creek bed that lands me on my butt. But, I am much more careful…remembering one foot in front of the other.
As you know, hiking in the woods is very grounding for me. I remind myself to take the moment to sense the ground beneath me, and look down at my next step. It reminds me of a saying I learned this past year – ask yourself “what is the next right step.” Not, what the big plan is, but the next right move. The one right in front of you – is it walking on some tree roots, where you must be careful of your balance, or is it a clear path, level and even? It can vary with each step.
With Covid everyone’s path is a little different than they imagined, I know mine sure is, especially with continued cancer treatment. As an update, that sneaky little baby ball of cancer doesn’t seem ready to leave – but it is stable (my doctor/nurse are happy so I take that as a good sign.) I am continuing with my Parp inhibitor (twice daily oral treatment) to hopefully starve the bugger! Exhaustion is one of the drug’s many side effects, so every morning after taking my meds, I walk around my neighborhood. I make the effort to get out of bed, get dressed and out the door each morning – although it is getting later as the days get colder and darker. For me, that choice every morning is to put one foot in front of the other.
Rather than focusing on the interruption in the path, I’m trying to focus on the next right step. Sometimes that step is small, sometimes big, but the step forward in itself is so important! Right now, my next step may have tree roots or branches to navigate over, but I'm focusing on the path, and not trying to run or rush my way through, oblivious to the lessons around every corner.
So, here’s to one foot in front of the other and finding that next right step in our lives!
Just for fun, I found the original song “Put One Foot in Front of the Other” sung by Mickey Rooney (as Kris Kringle) in 1970’s Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town. He sang it to help the Winter Warlock change his nasty ways and become a nice person - by putting one foot in front of the other! You can easily find it on YouTube and it is worth a trip down memory lane!
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