Stepping back

 

I was asked what I want to do this year. 

 

Part of me is ready to go forward with the curiosity of an eight-year-old. 

Looking for the time to be brave as I step into what is coming next. 

 

Yet there is this older part of me that says it’s time to be stepping back to be mindful of where I’ve come from. 

 

I wonder if there is time to do both. 

 

Perhaps the answer lies in what I do each new year. 

When I pay attention to what is around me now, be aware of the people who are with me and then trust what is truly there. 

It can look like stepping back to see the entire forest.

It can look like stepping back to see the entire forest instead of only the one tree in front of me. 

 

That has happened when I go into the mountains I live near as I hike to the top of a favorite trail. 

 

If I pass closely next to one set of trees, then I often miss how massive the top of each one is until I take a dozen steps away. 

 

It is then that I will see that the top boughs are there to not only bring me shade but to bring places for the birds to land. 

 

The green in one tree may be deeper on the left than on the right and that the tallest of them all is a few feet away. 

 

I have been in places on mountains and with people where I am too close to see all the aspects of a group. 

Stepping back is when the magic comes.

This is when I have found that when I remind myself that stepping back is when the next space of magic comes. 

 

For me, the magic is letting the colors, designs and goodness naturally shine. 

 

Imagine learning this in a concrete forest like seen here. 

 

I was walking through a space with a few others recently when I looked up to see the same designs and colors repeated in front of me. 

 

Until I stepped back with new eyes. 

 

It was as if being able to pay attention to what I saw with those around me created a new level of trust in the things being created at that very moment.

 

Things became clearer as I paused that day. 

 

Even when I had come into the space with what I thought was a clear purpose for my day, I realized that walking through it before speaking with others is how I knew what to do next. 

Taking the first step is how I was going to know what to do next.

Taking the first step is how I was going to know what to do next. 

 

Think about this with me. I could see myself in this room with the towering concrete walls before arriving. 

 

I had created what I was going to say and then I took the step to be there. 

 

That is when I knew the rest of my story and what needed to be shared. 

Then there was a feeling to add more on the spot! 

 

Learning to go with the flow of the moments while listening to those I was with told me to go for it this time. 

 

It was another way to bring calm to the soul. 

 

What fun! 

 

Have you done this? 

 

Perhaps you’ve been in a room with others after preparing remarks. Have notes ready to go and then you look at those who are there. 

 

Suddenly the energy in the room tells you there is more to say. 

 

You go with what you feel and trust that is the best for the day. 

Stepping back gave me the best nest step.

My friends, that is when stepping back may give the best next step. 

 

I can feel my heart skipping and feeling excitement as we go now. 

 

This is where the fun can happen.

 

Taking a step back is when I have been able to be curious and as brave as an eight-year-old. 

It can give me moments of clarity when I am too close to something I care about or when I am preparing for an event. 

 

It is also where I am leaning into my years of living to pay attention, be aware and trust. 

 

What if that is the course of the day and this year? 

Makes me want to go on a hike up a mountain and into a concrete jungle!