Lesson Learned from Falling
On my last trip to South Africa, I fell three times – falling once is unusual, falling three times? I had to check that out.
Houston: The first time I fell, I was hurrying when there was no need to hurry. We were early at the airport, even for me. But I was being over-competent, attempting to reassure Lily (Parish) that she was in good hands. In my haste, I stepped on my own shoe in an effort to turn my bags around and ended prostrate on the floor, along with my bags. To further illuminate my pretense, when I tried to check us in, I discovered I had directed Tom Parish to drive us to the wrong terminal. If I were Lily, I would have been leery of my safety.
Johannesburg: The second time I fell, it was 3am, and Vijay Reddy and I were sneaking into the house after the More To Life Weekend, in order not to wake up Heide and Michael Block (our hosts). There was a step down from the lounge into the dining room. I knew it was there, having been warned several times by Michael. This time I was weary, and I missed it, falling onto my right knee.
Cape Town: The third time, I was in the shower, planning the strategy for Sunday of the More To Life Weekend – and I slipped on the tile floor, splat on my butt, somehow twisting my right knee in the process.
OK, what's the message here. I so rarely fall, having naturally good balance. I looked for the theme or the pattern of my energy during each fall. The first fall, I was taken over by my pretense, the second by my weariness, the third by my projection into the future. There were no physical repercussions from either of the first two falls – not even a bruise. And there was only minor discomfort from my knee after the third fall. (Kate Martini did her magic on it, and even that went away.)
My lesson learned: a reminder lesson – stay home! … not regarding locality, but regarding my immediate physical home – my body – moving from the center of my body, while being embedded in the reality of the moment … awake and aware, mindful. And I have a great big Thank You to my body for its strength and resilience.
