One of Those DUH Moments
Have you ever done things in a certain way until they have become a habit? Or created a thought pattern until your response has almost become rote? Sometimes there comes a day when those thoughts and habits are challenged and jarred awake. Too many times I have corralled my mind inside a closed box without options to do things other than my way of thinking. Or I’ve never had an idea presented that was different from the path I was following.
I had one of those “DUH” moments while I was on my Thursday morning walk. I was walking more slowly because of the aches in my right knee. It was the recent injury to my right foot that slowed me down even more. The cool morning air with just a slight breeze made it perfect for the stroll. I did need to make an adjustment in my footwear though. Shoes needing to be tied with strings pinched on my bruised and swollen right foot. I decided to wear the pair of lined Crocs that my daughter Amanda Yoder bought as a Christmas gift. They worked quite well for my walk along a paved highway. I’m not sure that I would want to travel cross country in them.
In my past jaunts, I would try to keep record of the amount of time I spent walking, but because I stop to take photographs, keeping the amount of time is far from accurate. Lately, since I know the distance of certain walks, I’ve used that as my guide. The distance from my house to the village of White, Pennsylvania is one mile. I’ve walked halfway there many times, thinking that I walked one-half mile. So smart right? Not really. As I was walking Thursday morning, reaching the halfway point, I thought, “It’s time to head back to the house.” It suddenly dawned on me. I wasn’t just walking the half mile, but I was also walking another half mile to get back home. DUH!!!
For the entire time I was trying to measure the distance I’d been walking, I was short changing myself by half the distance. Now I know better. Sometimes these “DUH” moments can be terribly enlightening.