The Mindful Slip

Walking into my daughter's apartment, my bare soled shoes hit a patch of icy moisture left from shuttling our items from our car into her place on the cold winter night.  Feet sliding out from under me, I caught myself before I tumbled onto the floor.  This scene was repeated a few hours later upon our return from dinner.  I escaped unharmed again but learned that the combo of my shoes on her wet kitchen floor were a bad match.  Not seeing it coming, I blindly walked forward as though things would be as I expected them to be.

The day prior, I had woken in a bit of a down mode, but I cleared the haze by delving into my mediation practice, reading some inspirational pieces and then meditating.  That turned my morning around and left me with some positive direction for how to continue to drive myself and my practice forward.  Later, as the day progressed however, my mind started to slip as I became distracted with other issues.

From time to time we will hit a patch of ice and start to go into a fall.  We need to be able to catch ourselves when this happens but also, we should anticipate and knowledge that slips will occur.  When they do, we will be better prepared to not only catch ourselves but to learn faster and make the necessary adjustments to keep us on our feet.