Every day I go for a walk on the trail near my house. The round trip walk is about three miles. As I started walking yesterday about a mile down the road a small pebble got in my shoe. At first it didn’t bother me much, but as I walked further down it became more noticeable.
I just decided to ignore it, thinking to myself I am already half way through. I kept walking. But after some time the feeling of that pebble in my shoe became very bothersome. I started looking if there was something around, like a rock or a tree trunk where I can sit down and take my shoe off to get the pebble out. I could not find anything, I continued to walk.
Finally I came to a point where I could not take it anymore . I just leaned against a tree, took my shoe off and got the pebble out. I could not believe how tiny it was. I put the shoe on and continued walking; suddenly I realized I had walked past my favorite part of the trail, where there is a pond with water lilies, and birds. Normally I just slow down there and take in the view, listen to the birds call. On this particular day a small nuisance had taken over my mind so much that I did not notice the beauty of the surroundings.
It made me think, why didn’t I just stop and take action when I first felt that pebble in my shoe? Why did I wait till the pain became unbearable?
Don’t we sometimes go through our life with situations that are uncomfortable, hoping that it will be ok, and not take any action? We wait for the situation to really become unbearable, and in the bargain miss some beautiful moments in our life. Then finally we take action and wonder why I didn’t do this sooner.
So, why wait?
Do you have a pebble in your shoe? It may be a relationship that is not working or it can be your own habit which you know you need to get rid of. Don’t wait for the pain to become unbearable. Take action now, and enjoy your life!