Feasting on Elephants

Having started out on many journeys I have learned that if I kept thinking about how long it will be, it will not be fun at all.  Whether it is a long drive across many states, or a hike up the nearest mountain trail, to begin is an arduous task unto itself. 

Yes, before the ignition is started or the first step taken one must know what the final destination is.  This is paramount to set the course.  My mantra on a “journey” is becoming “one step at a time.”  Or as one wise sage once queried, “How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.”

I went for a walk the other day around our neighborhood.  The path I chose was one I had done several times before.  I began down a slight decline of the street we live on, then a slight incline followed by another longer decline.  Oh, this is easy, I thought.  Then, I reached the bottom and remembered, I live at the pinnacle of this “mountain” and I will have to get back up there!

Like I said, I’ve done this path before and the climb was not a memorable one.  I recalled the strenuous steps it required and the conscientious sucking for oxygen.  I looked up and thought I would never make it back to the top.

This time instead of looking ahead at the “out of reach” goal, I began to look to my right and to my left observing the woods and the creek below.  As I took the steps up the path, I watched birds, squirrels and rabbits going about their routines.  A neighbor drove by and we both raised a hand in greeting.  Before I knew it I had once again returned to the pinnacle.  Oh, I was still sucking for air, but the journey became more than getting from point “a” to point “B.” (Capitalization intended for emphasis of the climb!)

Too many times in my going about “living” I have missed “life” as it has gone by.  Is it my age?  Is it my new surroundings?  Or the paradigm shift I am experiencing?  Regardless, I am living into the “stopping and smelling the roses” right now.  This is hard, very hard, for a task-oriented person.  It is hard to justify checking off the to-do list “enjoying life.”  It may not generate income or impact my little world, but it is helping me to experience God’s creation in a new and refreshing way.

The elephant will still be eaten, and since I can’t swallow it whole, I might as well savor each morsel of the feast…one bite at a time.