A little prickle

Yesterday I went on a walk with a friend in the beautiful parklands by the creek. To talk about life. The book we are writing. And to take my dog for a run and swim. The parklands are such a beautiful spot to walk and talk. As we were leaving, my little pup started limping. I looked at her paw, and couldn’t see anything was wrong. But the limp was such that I ended up carrying her home.

I wasn’t sure if she had something in her paw. Or if she had hurt her leg. I tested her ability to walk a couple of times on the journey back. She would start walking with just a little bit of tenderness. But then, after a few steps she would be limping and not wanting to put her leg on the ground. I would pick her up and we would continue home. Luckily, she is small enough to carry (although it was quite a workout). And thankfully, she is used to being carried around like a baby. She is very comfortable in my arms. She looks so cute being cradled. And I am not the only one to think so. A child we passed shared those very words with us (and anyone else in a 5 kilometre radius nearby willing to listen). She thought my ‘baby dog’ was very cute.

We got home. Me a little sweaty. Puppy still limping. My husband popped her in his lap and we both looked at the pads of her paw. And then I saw it. In different light. From another angle. I saw what was bothering her all this time. The tiniest little prickle. And as soon as I took it out and we put her back on the ground she ran around like nothing had happened. The limp. Gone. The prickle. Forgotten. We were so relieved.

This got me thinking about how, sometimes, it is the smallest things in life which can slow us down. Hinder us. Stop us moving forward. Make us metaphorically limp through life. Or stop altogether. They can unexpectedly turn up. Catch us by surprise. A tiny little ‘prickle’ in life, can have a big impact. And not just on you. But on those around you. It is easy to miss the small stuff. To think it has no impact. But if that small thing has the right thorn, and gets into the right spot, a soft and vulnerable part of you, it can bring you down. In seconds.

Perhaps it is about learning to respect the small stuff in life, alongside the big stuff. Noticing the little things. Looking out for them. Being aware of where we are vulnerable. And accepting, that now and then, something really small and tiny can get to you.

Like yesterday, there are times when we can’t see these tiny obstacles. These little things which derail us. No matter how hard we look. No matter how others who love us, and care for us, search for it. And we limp around. Trying to walk through life. Hurting. Or irritated. Or simply unable to move. It was only when the light was different, and I was able to look at the paw of my pup from a different angle, that I saw what was causing her to limp. And so it is in life. You often have to look at things from another point of view, a different light shed on the situation, to see what you have been unable to see. And often it is about someone else looking for you. Or you being in a different mindset to look at yourself from a different angle, in a different light. For you to see what it is that is crippling you right now, and to then know how to deal with it.

The most important lesson for me yesterday, was the reminder about having the support of others. Yes, sometimes in life something small and unseen will derail us, and in those times it is so important to have someone to carry us home. Someone to lovingly, and without complaint, cradle us home. To not be too proud to take their care and their help. To allow them to carry us. To not try to limp along the journey back to our place of comfort. To allow our friends and family to know when we are hurting. By something small and unseen. To let them know we don’t know why walking in life is difficult right now, but that we accept their support. Their love. Their care. And allow them to hold us for a while. For as long as we need.

I am grateful for these reminders from yesterday. Grateful to people around me and in my life who love me and have held me when I needed to be carried. Grateful that I have had the honour to carry others, to support and care for them in their time of need. And grateful that my gorgeous little fur baby is running around today, prickle-less and free, the injury of yesterday, a distant memory.