Friday, January 1, 2010

Get Off The Sidewalk


Jonathan Mead of Illuminated Mind used an amazing phrase that has changed my approach to the small choices I make every day. Those small choices form my large choices so they matter even if they are small. "Get Off The Sidewalk". I read but did not assimilate it until I was out doing my walk/run the next day. I was walking on the sidewalk and there was a path that veered off into the trees. I actually stopped moving to digest the significance and simplicity of the phrase. Guess what? I moved onto the path and ended up on a new route full of new things to experience!

Figuratively speaking, getting off the sidewalk is about living in new ways. it is about trying new things. Taking the less crowded path. The less predictable path. The less perfect and therefore less limiting path. Wow. Four little words to change your life.

I was alone on this beautiful path. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you will see why this is so symbolic. Always hesitant to take a different path. Always rewarded by the decision to do so.

Now I get off the sidewalk in small ways every day. I choose the choice that I would not have chosen when I am on autopilot. It means that I meet new people, try new foods and go new places. It means I resist the urge to do as I have always done. Sometimes I would rather be back on the sidewalk but overall the rewards far outweigh those moments. Usually when I am wishing to be back on the sidewalk, it is because I am being 'forced' to experience something new. I feel like a little window has opened in my mind and that light is sifting into a place where it was dark. Happy New Year!

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