Today, as I was leaving my doctor appointment at the VA, I found myself walking at a brisk pace, per usual. There was an elderly gentleman, whom I crept upon fairly quickly, in my path. Typically, I would have passed him. Today, I decided to slow down and walk in his footsteps. I could hear someone approaching quickly behind, the click of a woman’s heels. She wants to pass. The hall was just perfect, there was a gentleman looking at some brochures on the wall on one side, the gentleman I was following was not quite off to the right, and I closed the gap, she should slow down also. My elderly gentleman, not sure what he thought, I think he realized what I had done, turned to look at me, I smiled, gave a slight nod, and looked at the ground. He never changed his pace. As soon as she could, she bolted around us.
We crossed the street. I fell in step next to him, but not too close, ensuring vehicles stopped, and he crossed safely. We walked in silence to the rear of the lot. He got to his car before I got to mine. I was intentional about keeping that slow pace as I continued to walk to my car.
There was something about walking in his footsteps. Walking in the footsteps of one who had gone before me. Still teaching me lessons, I have yet to learn.
There are those in my life who are mentors to me, those whom I mentor… We never stop learning. We never stop teaching. Wherever we go, we never know who we may impact, solely by the steps we take. So, SLOW DOWN.
On the Outside Looking In 