This morning was the first time I had a chance to get out and walk. I was thinking about walking to the park and then I had the idea to drive and just simply walk the trail.

Why is this a big deal? I had a big fall while running the other day and hurt my knee. I still don’t have full range of motion but I can get around much better than I did a few days ago.

What had happened was this…

There was a truck that passed me while I was running. I noticed there was a lawnmower on the truck bed. I could smell the fuel from the truck as he passed by me and I was thinking, “who cuts their grass during winter?”  The truck with the lawn mower turned on to a street that I had planned to also turn onto.  I was enjoying the music and the beautiful weather when I noticed the truck and the lawnmower again.  This time the lawnmower had been offloaded and was parked in the grass of one of the houses on the street. The man driving the truck was by his truck securing the ties.  That’s when my mind went back into judgment mode again. As I was coming to the end of the sidewalk that I was running on, I could feel my foot catch something.  I staggered trying to catch my step but I was going down!  Everything was in slow motion as I saw myself about to hit the road. I laid there for a few minutes trying to get myself together.  As I laid there, I saw the man just staring at me. As I started to get up, he asked if I was okay. I replied that I was and I started walking past his truck.  He asked me once again if I was ok before he got in his truck to drive off.  I walked a few more steps then had to sit down. I must have sat there for like five minutes.  I had never fell before so I didn’t know what I was going to do. My knee was a little skinned up and I had holes in my gloves but I was ok. The only thing I could focus on was trying to figure out how to get back home.  

Once I got home, I just relaxed on the couch for the next couple of days, until today.  I wanted to get in a walk. 

Now that you understand why this walk was so special, I want to share the big “aha” I got while walking.  I lost my footing when I started focusing on what others were doing.  My assignment that morning was to enjoy the run and the sun.  I had taken my eyes off the prize.  I started thinking about all the others times in my life where I had tripped myself up criticizing, judging or comparing myself to someone else. That’s when it hit me! 

Lesson Learned: Stop worrying about what everyone else is doing and just stay focused on what I need to do. What they are doing is none of my business.

My focus picture of the week: