Stepping Stones

Moving from comfort to discomfort

Last month, I went on a short retreat to a small picturesque California town.

As we settled in for the weekend, my friend took us to a nearby preserve nestled in a beautiful valley.

At the center of the valley was a riverbed. We proceeded to remove our socks and shoes and venture out across the stones, which were a mix of above and below the low-flowing river. 

It had been some time since I’d taken such a walk, but familiar feelings came back quickly: a mixture of playfulness and adventure, with a sense of unsteadiness and vulnerability. Some stones were smooth, dry, and sturdy, while others led to wobbles, slips, and sharp pangs underfoot. 

But as quickly as I experienced one stone, I was moving onto the next. And the next.

Moving from comfort, to discomfort, to comfort again. 

As I moved, I relaxed further inside. What step occurs to me now… and now? 

And then the thought came – what if this was all I ever needed to do? 

To get present, and choose the next step. Rather than consider the whole walk, and try to strategize from a distance… could I truly meet my experience, moment to moment? 

Equally compelling, was the reminder that uncomfortable steps were inevitable. 

I could hardly curate a walk of perfect stones, yet when it comes to life, this can seem like a reasonable aim. To get it right, make only good choices, avoid uncomfortable missteps.  

But what kind of river walk would that be? Cautious, controlled, vigilant – tiring. 

And what was I currently enjoying? A sense of adventure, flexibility, and freedom. 

The uncomfortable experiences, the choices that feel ‘wrong’ in the moment – can I see them as stones as well? Underfoot for a time, but inevitably passing. 

Imperfect steps as a natural part of the kind of walk, and life, I want to enjoy.