cr 2032 ... a lesson in humility

cr 2032 .... a lesson in humility, came on sunday.  as has been my custom for the last six months, i rose early to get in my walk before worship.  if i don't walk when i first awaken, i rarely seem to fit it in later on...for a variety of reasons (i could elaborate on that, but, use your imagination, or your own excuses!)

so, i did my usual walk, and low and behold, when i took off my pedometer, i had a total of 166 steps!  when i looked during my walk, i was around 9,000 .... who stole my steps?!

when i arrived for worship, i plugged in my pedometer to upload my information, and i had only gleaned 20 heart miles.  all that effort, i thought.  i was a little miffed, to say the least.  i had been doing so well!  i'd reached gold on friday, earning my olympic badge; i'd been faithful to my walking shoes, daily!  what happened???

alas, i was determined.  so, out i walked during the early evening on sunday; a beautiful valley evening; i even went a different route -- deterined to secure more steps.  i checked my count during the walk -- can you see i've become a little obsessive? -- and i was at about 4500 ... yea!  it was working again!  and when i checked a bit later i was at ... about 4500 steps!  what's wrong with this picture???

i returned home, and, alas, i was at about 4500 steps!  i guess i need a new pedometer, like folks had been saying...(this had happened once before, but somehow it righted itself).  so, i'm sitting in my den, out of sorts, when i turned over my pedometer, revealing a 'trap door'...now i know what to do with that jar of pennies!  so i opened it up, and there it was...a round little silver disk, with the writing "cr 2032" on it.  i needed a new battery!!!!

off to target, and for less than $6, i was up and running again...well, at least my pedometer was!  all i needed was a new battery; energy, to be empowered again.  did i feel foolish, or what?!  all that wasted time and emotion, when all i needed was a new battery.  this was a lesson in humility!

i think i'd gotten a little off track; maybe even forgetting the main focus of this 'exercise' -- for my health!  getting a little frustrated, and even saying to myself -- "i even walked twice today!" was a reminder that i had lost my focus.  even when we do something for the greater good, we can loose our focus.

how humbling.  so, i'm back on track again.  and yesterday, i investigated a whole different route!  life isn't always about the destination; it's the journey, and the opportunity we take to appreciate the route.  how often we can get distracted even when we stay focused.  but how easily comes the distraction when we are not paying attention.

barbara brown taylor, an episopal priest, wrote in her book, an altar in the world; a geography of faith --a book we are reading in our centering prayer small group:  "you are truly, seriously lost, even though you know exactly where you are (p.76)".  that quote comes from a chapter entitled 'the practice of getting lost'.  i had stayed so focused on my course, my goal, my way, that i had stopped paying attention and gotten 'lost'.  i knew where i was, i just had become task oriented.  get the job done.  i had stopped having the spiritual experience of 'getting lost'.  i'd become too up-tight achieving my goal.

so, i've gotten my new battery; and i think i'm in syn again.  now, if i can just remember the value of this humble lesson again in about six months when, i'm sure, i might need this lesson once again.  no doubt by then, my battery will need replacing once again...and that will be a good thing.  that's why i entitled this blog post as i did  -- i know i'll need to be reminded!  being humbled really isn't such a bad thing . . . .