The Parable of the Pebble in My Shoe

I love walking in the morning. There is nothing quite like watching the world wake up. One morning last month I had just turned the corner on the last stretch home when I got a pebble in my shoe.

My first thought was, “How did this pebble get in my shoe?” I was wearing my running shoes and they were laced up tight. The heel of the shoe came up over the back of my ankle. There wasn’t an obvious place open for the pebble to enter. There was nothing I could have done to prevent the pebble from getting into my shoe.

Then I caught myself asking, “Why is this pebble in my shoe?” and “Why now?” What silly questions. At this point it doesn’t really matter why. The only thing that matters is what am I going to do about it. So I asked myself, “What am I going to do about it?”

I came up with two options. I could stop and take the pebble out of my shoe or I could just keep on walking. I considered it for a moment and realized that the pebble only hurt when it moved. If it stayed in the same place than the spot where the pebble was causing the pain would go numb after a few steps and disappear. I knew that if I stopped and took the time to remove the pebble, I would loose my momentum down that last stretch and I would not be as happy with my workout. My second option was to continue walking at the same pace and try and work the pebble into a spot where it wouldn’t hurt so much or where it would remain still. I knew that I could push through the workout even with a little bit of pain, so I choose to keep walking.

Later I thought back on the silly “why” questions and realized that many times when going through a trial or a set back I often get stuck on asking why. “Why me?” “Why now? If these questions could be answered than the lesson would be learned and I could move on. However, the majority of the time it isn’t that simple and I must concentrate on finding other answers.

The first question I need to ask when I find myself in an undesirable situation is, “How did I get here? Could I have done something to prevent it?” If I could have prevented it in the first place, than I would look at what I should have done and move on, with a decision not let it happen again. If I couldn’t, than I still must press forward and ask myself, “What am I going to do about it now?” By concentrating on what can be done instead of getting stuck by complaining and whining about the whys and how it wasn’t my fault, I can learn, grow and press forward