“My grandmother once gave me a tip:
In difficult times, you move forward in small steps.
Do what you have to do, but little by little.
Don’t think about the future, or what may happen tomorrow.
Wash the dishes.
Remove the dust.
Write a letter.
Make a soup.
You see?
You are advancing step by step.
Take a step and stop.
Rest a little.
Praise yourself.
Take another step.
Then another.
You won’t notice, but your steps will grow more and more.
And the time will come when you can think about the future without crying.”—Elena Mikhalkova
Are you looking at the future and crying, as Russian author Elena Mikhalkova says? Are you wondering when we will be on the other side of this pandemic and able to face the future with arms wide open?
Several autumns ago, I took a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction class with Chris Klug at Prairiewoods. It was an eight-week series with lots of reading and homework. But it was also full of learning and experiencing and growing more than I could have imagined in eight weeks.
Practicing mindfulness has taught me to “take a step and stop”—and to notice everything about that step as I complete it. If I’m making a soup, I watch it closely as it thickens. I pause and appreciate the rich, onion-filled aroma. I stop and taste the creaminess, noticing how it feels to have piping-hot soup slide down the back of my throat. I “take a step and stop.”
Last week, my husband and I took a big step. We adopted a dog that spent her early years as an outdoor farm dog and her recent months in two different shelters (including one that was preparing to euthanize her due to overcrowding). She is sweet and loving, timid and reluctant to leave the comfort of our house. This spring, when we were in the early days of this pandemic, I wouldn’t have been able to take on the challenges of introducing a new dog to our home. I wouldn’t have had the stamina to take the many steps required to train a new dog. But I’ve spent the last four months taking small steps, and now I’m ready for bigger steps. And I’m looking at the future without crying.
—Andi Lewis, Prairiewoods marketing coordinator