5:30 a.m., Sunday.
The morning was cool as the sun was casting its first sunrays on top of the trees. The neighborhood was quiet as most people were probably still in bed. But I wasn’t.
I put on my tennis shoes and headed outside. With temperatures in the high 90s, low 100s during the day, the cool morning was very inviting, so I wanted to go for a walk. There was no one on the roads but me.
I walked to a different street near a golf course. The big houses, open spaces, and beautiful landscaped yards provided a different place for my morning walk and I enjoyed taking it all in. The quietness afforded the opportunity to think and I was enjoying my time when I decided to turn onto a different road.
As I started going down the street, a cute little animal moved about in one of the yards and started crossing the road. Perhaps it was too early even for me, but it took me a few moments to realize what the cute animal was: skunk!!
Now I don’t know much about skunks, but do know enough to know that I don’t want to be too close to one, so I gently, but quickly turned around and went another way.
It’s funny to think how I quickly avoided the skunk, because I knew it was not be good for me, but how often do I know something is not good, but keep on going towards it? We all do that. Things that may seem good, fun even, but in the end lead us to a path of destruction.
Think about it, in the realm of health and wellness, how often do you indulge in things that aren’t healthy for you? That daily sugar habit that is making your pancreas work overtime; that relationship that seems so fun, but is slowly taking away from your wellbeing; the late nights binge watching on shows only to be so tired and less productive the next day; the hours sitting down without moving that precious body of yours, accumulating extra pounds and priming the body for disease; the cigarette that is so calming yet so lethal; the daily consumption of processed and fatty foods; and the list goes on… we all know it. We know well what is good for us and what is not, but often keep following the skunk until it sprays us.
The cool thing is that we were given an incredible power: the power of choice! And we can choose right now to avoid all that is harmful, turn around, and go another way. Let’s start today! What is one thing that you know in your heart you need to turn around from and go another direction?
Who knew an early morning encounter with a skunk could be so enlightening?