Taking a step or two

We all start out learning to walk by taking little baby 'steps'....slow, hesitant, unsure baby steps and soon we master the art of walking and start taking fast, confident, sure steps. And somehow, taking baby steps doesn't stop in our childhood years....we continue taking them throughout our lives....whenever we embark on something new....we are slow, hesitant, unsure....and as we realize that this is indeed something we were meant to do, those baby steps become fast, confident and sure.

Then there is taking a 'step' forward. When we know what we want....when we know where our destination is....we take those forward steps to get to our goal and we keep on marching ahead until we get there.

And when we dance, we match 'steps' with our partner. A well choreographed, in sync dance with coordinated moves is for me simply 'poetry in motion'....a visual treat....very satisfying to the soul.

There is also of course 'stepping' on people's toes....not literally but figuratively....where you end up doing or saying something which offends or insults someone. In most cases, I don't think we do this deliberately. But humans are complex beings....and what seems perfectly fine to you may end up offending somebody else.

I love to walk on a beach leaving my footprints on the sand. After I have taken many 'steps' ahead, I always turn back to look and see that the waves have already erased my footprints....leaving no trace of the fact that I was ever on the beach....I find this somewhat symbolic of the fact that most human beings leave no trace whatsoever of their existence on this earth once they are gone.

But the most significant step, at least for me, is the 'step' backward. When things get unbelievably overwhelming, when the mind is flooded with doubts, when it feels like the roof is about to collapse on my head....it has always helped to step back, look at the big picture and reassess the situation. Nine out of ten times, any decision I have made after taking a step back has been the correct one....right on target.

Signing off realizing that with every action in the present, I am laying a 'stepping' stone towards the direction my future will take and this poem written by me a few years ago titled 'March ahead'

When the past whispers of days bygone
Of haunting memories and events which make you sad
Don't fall weak, Don't look back
Focus on the future and march ahead.

Everything happens for a reason
You may think this sounds easy to be said
But pull up your sleeves, wipe your tears
Focus on the future and march ahead.

When the days seem gloomy
And the nights seem listless and dead
Listen to the chirping birds, look at the twinkling stars
Focus on the future and march ahead.

Life is very precious and beautiful
You'll see if you raise your head
Life has so much to give, so much to offer
So, focus on the future and march ahead.