The Pebble In My Shoe

As I stepped out onto the circular track, ready to begin my morning ritual just before sunrise, the smell of the morning dew greeted my awaiting senses. The grass surrounding the track was freshly cut, and I was motivated to get my day started.
And then I felt it.
 
That small… tiny… miniscule pebble somewhere just south of the arch in my right foot "spoke up."
 
At first, all I "heard" was the soft whisper of the pebble’s voice as I strode along the graveled path. I was not bothered, per se, by the tiny little whisper. After all, I was wearing a nice pair of sweat socks and a great pair of running shoes.
 
Nonetheless, I “heard” the little whisper from that tiny pebble.
 
“Never mind me,” the tiny pebble seemed to say.
 
“I won’t hurt you. I won’t cause any damage. Focus on your meditative walk. You can do it. Don’t listen to me.”
 
I listened to that little pebble for the next 1,722 paces… until I finally pulled over, removed my right shoe, held it vertically (toe-side-up), and watched the tiny morsel of a rock settle into the heel of the shoe.
 
And then,

                 ...I let it go.
 
Right there along the path of the track, I let that little whisperer of an allegory drop to the earth.
 
Me?
 
I stood there, between heaven and earth, attached to the earth by unseen forces, but closer to heaven by virtue of height and faith.
 
And then, I replaced my shoe on my right foot, inhaled deeply, and began my newly inspired journey in earnest. Back on the right track and no longer listening to the soft-yet-steady words of that pestering pebble, I only heard my own inner thoughts and the teachings of heaven. Wow! What a difference it made! I could actually align my thoughts without the occasional aside from the whispering pebble.
 
The nerve of that little pebble! “I won’t hurt you. I won’t cause any damage," it said.
 
But oh!  Its little conversation with me WAS the damage.
 
Now... ideally, I should have never given that little pebble the opportunity to garner my thoughts. Ideally, I should have dispensed with that little bugger and his persistent whisperings as soon as it spoke up... as soon as I had begun to listen.
 
Ideally, we should all prepare the best possible foundation for our journey in life.

But life is beautifully meandering, and as much as we prepare for the perfectly planned path, the road gets a tad bit rocky every now and then. Interestingly, we often view the rockiness as an outside influence. In reality, you and I know that we often allow things to pester, fester, and make us the court jester in our very own kingdom.
 
The name of my most recent book, The Ideal, implies the lofty goal of achieving an “almost perfect” life. However, perfection does not exist. Moreover, the quest for The Ideal life is a continuous quest; it is not something we someday complete and subsequently cease all effort toward… it is a life-long dream.
 
In fact, The Ideal life is an existence, a lived life, and an alignment of your resources toward an acceptance and eventual understanding that the path of life is not smooth. It is meandering, unstable, and sometimes jagged, ragged, if not outright tattered and torn with discontent, disdain, and downright damning downpours of one disappointment after another.
 
Yet, the time we share does not stop. The clock of our lives keeps on ticking.
 
What, then, are we to do?
 
Rejuvenate. And we must do this often.
 
Mealtime, while feeding the body, is the perfect time to rejuvenate the mind and soul.  
 
Why not invest a mere 180 seconds and feed all three at the same time?
 
Start your breakfast, lunch or dinner thinking about how blessed you are to have what you already have, starting with your five senses… as well as the great sense of timing you now have.
 
Want to try something even MORE special?
 
Send yourself an email with the subject line “Two Little Pebbles.”
 
In the email to your self, simply write two straightforward sentences:
 
1. Beginning today, I will stop _______________________________________ .
 
2. Beginning today, I will start ______________________________________ .
 
Fill in the blanks, hit SEND, remove those little pebbles that whisper persistently in your inner ear, and get started on living The Ideal life!
 
In work and play… in life, love, and life-long search for happiness, we all employ a day-to-day philosophy.
 
Make no mistake: We ALL have our own philosophy.
 
What's your personal philosophy?
 
My philosophy is simple:
 
Accept. Adapt. Achieve! ®
 
~ Aloha,
 
John