Every Step Counts

A man came up to me at the supermarket and said, "I see you walking every day." He emphasized the words every day and added, "I just want to introduce myself because I walk every day, too.”

His words landed like a quiet validation. He’d seen me. He’d noticed. And I felt unexpectedly proud.

Flashback to this time last year: My dear, I was in so much pain. My biggest goal in life was to one day be able to put my pants on again while standing up, and to be able to bend over to tie my shoes. My lower back pain was so bad I'd have to sort of climb up my own body with my hands to get out of bed in the morning if you can imagine.

I tried somatic therapy, weekly acupuncture, and got an adjustment from an intuitive chiropractor. All of these modes were incredibly helpful, but I still had a ways to go.

In March, my walking habit began.

Between March 30th and September 27th, I took nearly 2,000,000 steps.

That's about 1000 miles walked in six months time. This breaks down to about 6 miles a day, which may not seem like much, but for someone with chronic back pain, every step helped.

My physical quality of life has changed dramatically.

1. Put pants on while standing up. CHECK

2. Bend over to tie shoes. CHECK

3. Get out of bed without wanting to cry. BONUS

There have been all kinds of unexpected benefits from daily walking, too, like dreaming up ideas for books I’d like to write, talks to develop, and new courses to teach.

PS. I also got a tan.

Why am I telling you this?

The hero of this story isn’t me. It’s the human spirit. It’s the desire to change coupled with the decision to change, plus the dedication to see it through.

Desire + Decision + Dedication = Transformation

The transformation reminds me of when I learned to meditate. Those first six months of dedicated practice yielded results I never could've predicted.

Desire

The desire for change had been simmering for a while, and I must confess, it was born out of some pain and suffering much like my most recent transformation.

My logical mind at the time knew everything was fine: family good, health good, boyfriend good, home good, finances fine, career fine, but for reasons I couldn’t identify, my body was filled with dread. I’d wake up with my stomach in knots, verging on tears, anxious about whatever the day might bring.

Decision

I finally decided that there had to be a better way to live. It just didn’t make sense that I could be relatively successful but still feel awful. After some research into a variety of modalities designed to improve quality of life, I made the decision to learn Vedic meditation.

Dedication

I felt like I owed it to myself to see this through. I was diligent with my practice, twice a day every day not just for six months, but from then on. Meditation is as much a part of my day-to-day as brushing my teeth.

Transformation

You can probably guess that not only did the dread leave my body, but I was able to enjoy my success and expand on it in countless ways.

Back to present day: We can desire change on multiple levels—in our body and mind, in our relationships, in our work, our home, our community, our country, our world. To desire change is to acknowledge that which is already in motion.

Add decisiveness and dedication to that desire, and watch the transformation unfold. Once we make the decision to change, every step counts.

(Interested in personal transformation? Consider learning Vedic Meditation. Learn more here. https://www.jameyhoodmeditation.com/)