
My feet try hard to avoid the cold as I focus on the rock ahead.
I gauge the distance and jump.
Balancing on that rock, I search for another stepping stone.
When I find it, I carefully take the step.
I repeat the pattern again and again until the other side of the creek bed
becomes reality beneath my feet.
In life, I cannot always know the end result.
Sometimes I see only one step at a time.
I am not sure what that next step will bring.
What if it is too slippery and I fall into the icy water?
If I fall, will someone laugh?
Will I be hurt?
Since I have been in more touch with who I am,
and my panic no longer consumes me when I can see only one step ahead.
I can take that step, knowing the next will follow once I safely reach my foothold.
And if I should fall,
I know I will still reach the opposite shore a little wiser than if I hadn't fallen.