It's because I fall a lot. A LOT. I have tiny ankles and weak ligaments, and there's a lot of weight balanced on top of those. All it takes is a slight misstep to send me tumbling. My doc thinks the two hard falls I took in 2011 triggered my vertigo. The weak ligaments are from multiple sprains I had as a child and teen - this falling business isn't new. I am a lifelong klutz.
But I don't LIKE looking at the ground all the time. So when I'm wandering through a new place, I tend to stroll slowly, or even stop often, so I can look up and take in the wonders around me. Vicki Crumpton told me that when she hiked the Grand Canyon trail, the guides told the group that they could either "hike or look" but not both. On those narrow trails, it was too dangerous to do both.
I liked that advice. I can relate.
As believers, we're often told to "look up," a nice metaphor for remembering to rely on God in good times as well as bad. And just as it is with walking, I've found it's much better if you stop while you're looking up. When you're still, you just see more.
Happy Friday to you all. I hope you have a great weekend of "looking up."
My gosh -- me TOO! I could be just walking across the quad and the next thing be on the ground, books all around me. I was KNOWN for this. It's been the source of all my health issues for 50 years.
ReplyDeleteGood advice. :)
One reason I'm now a fan of ZIPPERED bags. I lived in Monahan dorm at MTSU, which mean crossing the "swamp" to get to class. Between the walnuts, roots, and uneven ground, it was like a mine field.
DeleteDuring my park ranger years, I discovered there are two types of hikers--those who hike and those who look. I'm definitely the latter, though I get hung up on looking down at the tiny things others miss. "Look at this sweet fern fiddlehead. Ooh--is that a centipede? Hey, I found a newt!" My hubbie and I struggled with hiking together. He's an athlete. His purpose in hiking was to get to the end of the trail. He's learning to be patient with me.
ReplyDeleteKaren, that's one reason I can't hike with many people! They want to HIKE and I want to look. Or listen. You can't hear as well when your walking in the wood. I let people go in front; I can always follow their noise. And they get to clear the cobwebs off the trail.
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