Chances are many of you have seen the movie WHAT ABOUT BOB. In it, Bill Murray plays a needy psychiatric patient who presumes upon his long-suffering psychiatrist, Richard Dreyfuss. Dreyfuss has written a book BABY STEPS in which he details the road to good mental health.
The movie is hilarious. It is also extremely insightful. As parents, we witness our children's attempts to walk. They take baby steps, tentative, slow, wobbly, in their quest to explore their world. How many of us recognize that we, as adults, also take baby steps?
We take baby steps when we learn a new skill. We take baby steps when we work on a relationship. We take baby steps when we build upon a talent. We take baby steps when we take a risk. Baby steps are necessary. We shouldn't be ashamed of them but should embrace them as the requisite to navigating our way through this life.
I am taking baby steps in doing this blog. I wasn't at all certain at the beginning of this project if I could do it--technically, emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Who was I to think I could figure out blogging? Who was I to think that I could write something of worth every day of the year? Who was I to think that anyone might be interested in what I wrote? Each post represents a baby step.
So, for today, I am grateful for baby steps.
I notice that it doesn't take that long between baby steps and running in my children. It looks like you're off and running as well!
ReplyDeleteYou're right. Too often I'm ashamed of my baby steps. After all, I'm an adult. Shouldn't I have mastered (fill in the blank) by now? The answer is "Of course not" most of the time, but the unrealistic expectation is a gotcha for my self-esteem every time.
Thanks for putting the proper perspective on baby steps!