Finding My Stride
Just because your stride isn't always even, doesn't mean it's broken.
It took me a long time, hell around fifty years, to finally start pulling together all the things I love and truly find my stride. And it’s still not even or unbroken. And that’s actually pretty perfect.
Lots of things can affect your stride.
Obstacles, injury, exhaustion, even stopping to smell the roses. Sometimes they're a clue to slow down and look around. Re-evaluate. Decide if what you want is a perfect stride, or one that welcomes change, variety, contrast. Other times the path is perfectly clear—no slow walkers or drivers, no dogs to stop and pet, no branches and rocks to trip you up—almost like fate is pulling you forward, opening the way to something new and amazing. Beckoning you to reach ahead, hurry your pace toward something exciting, whether it be something different, or more of the same things you love and cherish.
This past week, the St@lkerSister and I pulled something together in twenty-four hours that usually takes a week or more. It felt damn good to do that. Like we finally know what we’re doing. And we did it. No panic. Just put our heads together and got it done. Because my stride was much easier with my friends, my framily, my sisters by my side.
I’m also learning to find the patience, to tap the brakes and wait for something really exciting to come into view, because it will ultimately be worth it. And the time will pass anyway. Sometimes other things will be thrown in the path that necessitate a detour. Or it’s just part of the path that requires more attention to the surface below my feet. That doesn’t mean my stride has been broken, maybe it’s just a slower part of the journey. Maybe it’s part I have to do on my own, and it needs more attention. Or I just need to breathe. Stride broken? Nope. Rest is a requirement. Stride continues when the well is replenished.
And here I am showing my age. This song pops up in my head and on my playlist pretty regularly: https://youtu.be/B4c_SkROzzo Still as much of an earworm today as it was when I first heard it. Maybe now I’m just hearing it with a different filter. One telling me to take it all in stride and remember that it’s the journey as much as the destination that counts.
As one of the St@lkerSisters pointed out recently, “Readers, bloggers, authors all have strides that include lots of rhythms. So when you have hit your reading stride, maybe you’ve stumbled in your physical one. Or when you're stepping up as a writer, you trip over your TBR.” And well, damn, if that ain’t valid.
What does your stride look like? What do you do when you stumble? Meet me over on the FB or IG post and tell me about it.
