A message from Rev. Suzelle Lynch
I fell down the other day.
I fell right down on the sidewalk after crossing the street. “Ouch!” I exclaimed as my knees hit the cement. I rolled over onto my back, meeting the very concerned gaze of Tom, my walking companion. “Let me help you up,” he said.
“No. Just let me lie here for a minute,” I replied, taking a deep breath. The sidewalk was cold beneath my back, and the sky overhead was gray and full of clouds. Then I heard a car whoosh by on my left and realized that we probably weren’t safe there on the corner. It wasn’t a very busy street, but Tom was standing half in the road and I was sort of sprawled out over the curb.
He helped me rise and brush myself off. My knees and the heels of my hands were smarting something fierce as we continued our walk down towards the Menomonee River Parkway. But I was okay — or at least I thought so. Maybe I’d have a bruise or two.
But why did I fall down? Was I simply not paying attention to where I was walking? Were my shoelaces untied? Did I trip over rough pavement or slip on fallen leaves?
Pay attention! Watch where you’re going! Look out below! Timber! When we returned from our walk, Tom and I passed by the same corner where I had fallen. There were no obvious tripping hazards there. So why did I fall? There must have been SOMETHING, right? Or was it just a message from the Universe to slow down…
As I turned the situation over and over in my mind, I remembered that I had taken a fall in August, too. I’d blamed the uneven concrete on a friend’s backyard patio. And I fell in March before that.
An image of bones flashed across my mind’s eye. Bones? Yes! My own — my foot bones, in fact. It was the x-ray I’d had taken the week before at the podiatrist’s office. An x-ray that explained why I’ve been having pain in my right foot; an x-ray that veritably shrieked, “PAY ATTENTION!”
Do you ever ignore the messages your mind or body sends you? “That pain will go away,” we think to ourselves. “Oh, the itching isn’t bad,” we say. “I’ll just put some cortisone cream on it.” “My heart’s not really broken — I’ll just have another glass of wine…” How easy it is to ignore the signals our bodies, our minds, or the Universe sends to us.
It turns out that I can’t ignore my body’s signals anymore. I’m going to have to have foot surgery this winter. And I’m finding myself more fully tuning in to myself now, asking, what do I need to liven my spirits? To warm my heart? To energize my mind?
Don’t wait until you fall down…. Pay attention!
With love and compassion,
Suzelle
The Rev. Suzelle Lynch, Minister
