Just Walk Barefoot

I hate when I don't feel grounded. When things are up in the air and I am not sure what my next steps should be. It literally drives me crazy and makes even the smallest decisions hard. What should I eat? What should I wear? What should I post on my blog? All of these take hours to decide because focusing seems impossible when one big important thing is off. I don't like that feeling.

My friend Gerardo was in town a couple weekends ago. It was his first time to Oregon and our first stop on Amber's-day-long-tour-of-Portland was the Rose Gardens. For those who haven't been there, the Rose Gardens sit above downtown Portland. There are what feels like a million rows of different roses and an incredible view of the city. He and I walked around and talked while literally stopping every couple feet to "smell the roses". As we walked he said, "You know what? I need to ground myself". I immediately agreed with this thinking I too needed to make some changes in my life. He then proceeded to slip off each of his shoes and walk along the grass. Confused, I asked what in the world he was doing. He said, "I'm grounding myself. Our lives are so full of computers and cell phones that there are always currents running through our bodies. This is how you ground yourself." I looked at him as if we were insane and then he added, "Besides Amber, sometimes you just need to let go and walk barefoot."

Best advise all day! I laughed, took off my shoes, and we continued to walk. Today I look back on that and tell the nit picky perfectionist inside of me to relax, everything can't be perfect all of the time. In this moment, to ground myself, maybe I do need to let go, give up a little control, and walk barefoot.