Pebble in your Shoe - A Spiritual Journey

Have you ever gotten a pebble in your shoe while you were out walking? You feel like you are just getting your stride, feeling good about the progress you are making and suddenly you feel it. It moves around so that sometimes you don’t feel it, but nope, it’s there. You keep going because you don’t want to stop and take the time to get it out. You flop your foot around, slap your toes on the ground, to try to coax it to the front of your shoe where you hope it will settle. But it just tumbles around and works its way back to your heel again. Painfully.

Such is the spiritual journey of our life.

Life is moving along fine. You even have a little pep in your step then something starts to seem, hmm, not quite right. It may not be apparent right away but something is making you question yourself. It’s just a little discomfort; something someone said, something you said to someone else, a reaction to someone else’s behavior. It’s sticking with you.
It comes and goes though. Sometimes you can be out in the world without giving it another thought until an unrelated comment reminds you about the situation and then it hurts again. Just like the little pebble moving in your shoe.

You try to ignore it thinking it will go away; you try not to think about it, go out of your way to avoid the person or situation. You worry about what would happen if you run into them. You play out the scenario in your head, taking it to all sorts of possible outcomes, excuses, blame, hurt, anger….and so on. You are not yourself; you are preoccupied and nervous, a little grumpy. Just like with the pebble in your shoe, you get annoyed and lose focus on the great time you were having.

Sometimes it makes sense to take the time to take care of the little things that are causing you pain. It may be painful to admit you were wrong or say how you feel but it sure feels better when the air is cleared.
How long are you willing to walk with a pebble in your shoe?