I recently saw the movie, "The 100 Foot Journey,". It is a story about two restaurant owners and staff who are located across the street from one another (100 feet) in very different restaurants (one French, the other Indian). In the beginning the competition was fierce resulting in hard feelings on each side. But when the characters learn that all they have to do to end the ever worsening feud is cross the road, the competition ends, friendships blossom and some very positive things begin to happen.
Many times we have to take a step back from our old habits and our old ways of doing things in order to realize that there are other ways, better ways of accomplishing our objectives besides our own tried and true ways. This point has been driven home to me because of the movie and because I had surgery on my foot this past Thursday. I am on crutches and unable to put any weight on my left foot. Thanks to the weather, my wife has been able to be with me for the previous 5 days. She has been a very good nurse, remembering every detail of the post op instructions. And I am sure my foot will heal properly because of these first five days.
But she had to return to work today. The snow has melted. And this is my first day alone. Every journey I take is a new journey; going across the room presents itself with obstacles I had not noticed before; sitting down in a chair requires planning and positioning that I had never considered; bathing in the sink requires new stances and movements that I have never made; Preparing meals while standing on one leg makes the food seem like it was earned; going up and down the stairs...well...it is an entirely new experience, one I find exciting and fun (it is also a very good total body workout).
Sometimes we have to take a new journey to appreciate where we have come from. The new journey is built from the stones of the old. And from the old and the new something beautiful blooms.
