Showing Up

Have you ever watched a child take its first steps? 
More so, participated in the coaxing of that child's first steps?

Remember back to the cheering, the praise, the excitement, and anticipation of those first 3 or 4 steps.
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"You can do it"!

"I've got you"!

"Keep going"!

"Get back up, come to me"!

Each time the child stops, falls, pauses, cries, there you are, lending support, cheering, loving, being there, celebrating.

Inevitably after a short time of practice, that little rascal begins on a path of curiosity, mischief, wonder, destruction, (child proof locks, anyone), scrapes and bruises and a lifelong of peaks and valleys, planes, trains, and automobiles.  

In that monumental moment, a toddler was born.  A significant life change, pivotal in the entire trajectory of that child's life, but all we see is a baby taking his or her first steps, captured in our memory, stored on marshmallow.  

At that moment we are happy, the baby, now blooming toddler, awestruck at its achievement. 
Exhausted by the effort. 
​In awe of its feet, which by now has chosen to chew on.

Yes, the very beginning of self-exploration.   
Freedom from the protective baby front-pack, the jolly jumper, stroller, arms.  

Freedom to GO!  

That baby didn't make a chart, write the pros and cons, ask for help, permission, speak to its therapist if now is the right time to attempt walking, check tarot or meditate on the issue.  
Nope.  
That baby gave it a shot after observing others and when the time felt right, showed up.

Yeah, the kid showed up.  
The kid took a breath, stood up, waited, held on, pushed off, and went for it.  The kid showed up when the time was right.  
Bravo little person!  Bravo!  
Keep going!

Baby steps don't end when you learn to walk.  
Nope, that is when they begin.  
Each journey, each dream, each day begins with a step, and when the time is right, we need to take them.

It is so easy to forget the baby inside of each of us.  
We may age, we may not dribble out of a sippy cup anymore, and thankfully we can stop eating creamed spinach out of a jar, but we are still taking baby steps every day.  
We are still figuring out how to be toddlers without childproof locks.  
​We are scared, we are afraid to fall, we are in need of encouragement, we are curious, and we are always free to choose our journey, and those who are really, really good at yoga can most likely still chew on their feet.  

The difference is, are we showing up?

Are we taking that breath and showing up for ourselves or are we pausing?  

Are we not paying attention to the timing and letting time fly past us?

There will be times we need to pause, to seek help, to find strength outside of ourselves, but more often than not, we just need to show up.  

Show up for the journey.

What steps do you need to take?  

What are you going to show up for?

When are you going to take that first step?

How about today.  The Universe has your back..take a step.  

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