A Rock In My Shoe

[The Stage is on Fire] is a page-turner in which, much like life, there are no easy answers and yet each step of the journey yields insight and hope. This work of heart must not be missed!

Melanie Faith

Creative Writing Teacher, Essayist & Poet.

Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.

The Society of Professional Journalists

In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.

I thank you … It is the authenticity of your “class notes”; and it is the delicacy and skill with which you present the nuances of classroom life and the actuality of your students’ and fellow teachers’ lives.

Maxine Greene

Philosopher and Education Scholar

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Have you ever tried to run with a rock in your shoe? The other day, I started to put my running shoes on and a rock was caught in my sock. I got my shoe all the way on before I realized the rock was there. I gingerly walked around, trying to move the rock to a less aggravating place without having to untie my shoe, take my shoe off, remove my sock, find the rock, remove the rock, turn my sock right side out, put my sock back on, put my shoe back on, and tie my shoe. I did not want to go to the trouble of fixing the situation. The rock wasn’t that big. There had to be the perfect spot where the rock would not be noticeable. I just wanted to move the rock to a place that did not frustrate me. I tried and tried and tried and that place was nowhere to be found. I still did not remove the rock. I walked around the room some more. Shifted my toes. I walked around the room some more. Eventually, I took the rock out of my shoe and went about my day.

Why did I not immediately remove the rock from my shoe? Why did I have to walk around and around and around before taking the rock out? If the rock would have been bigger, would I have taken action sooner? Am I paralyzed by the big rocks? Are there other rocks in my life that I live with rather than deal with head on? What are the rocks in my life? Wouldn’t it be simpler to remove the rocks than live them?

What does running teach me about life’s rocks?

Pay Attention. Pay Attention. Pay Attention.

What are the rocks in your life? What do you lose sleep over? What stands in your way of being a loving force of nature in the world? When you think about you at your best, what has to happen for you to be that person? Take a second to be present, to assess the situation, to weigh the pros and con, and to think through options.

Get Rid Of The Rocks

After you have paid attention, get rid of the rocks. Get rid of the rocks that hold you back, that smell like fear, that give you a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach, that look like the anger of a hungry lion, that stand between you and the people you love, that fill your mornings with dread. Throw them. Kick them. Banish them. Cuss them out. Acknowledge them. Embrace them. Hold them.

Thick Socks Can Help

Thick socks are a soft heart. A soft heart leads to understanding. A soft heart means patience and forgiveness. A soft heart cushions life’s blows. A soft heart can break and find strength in the sadness. Protect your soft heart. Treasure the capacity to live within and beyond and between life’s rocks with a soft heart.