Tip Toe

Have you ever watched a baby that hasn’t mastered the skill of walking yet? Wobbly, they stand on the tip of their toes. The wheels in their tiny human brains turn and their arms flail about as they attempt to navigate their next move, which usually lands them on the floor.

Babies are funny. And so stinking cute when they begin to walk. Around our home, we call it the “Frankenstein” walk. You know they are on the verge of new things when they start Frankensteining.

Babies grow up to become thriving toddlers. Mostly they know two speeds: fast and faster. But on occasion, they slow down and get up on their tippy toes and slither through the house. Sneaky, they are. Tip toeing on purpose. Tip toeing to be quiet so they can hide. And then they jump from their hiding place and greet you with a dinosaur “RAH!” and monster hands. And then they are fast again.

But maybe I am only describing the toddlers in my family. Yours may be perfectly quiet and well-mannered young humans.

A tip toeing and quiet toddler is about as scary as the thought of a real dinosaur loose in my neighborhood. I’m a big fan of quiet toddlers but never trust one.

We were all toddlers once. My mom said I was a quiet toddler. As much as I’ve grown, there are still sticky places in my life where I haven’t grown up from that little Leanne. For example, I still use my tip toes. And I bet you do, too.

We tip toe around people, around relationships, around careers, around conversations, and decisions.

As grown-up toddlers, we want peace. We want our people to get along. We want approval with our peers. We want acceptance in our community. We will walk tip toed on shards of glass if it means that we keep peace.

But maybe I’m just describing me.

The bible says “Blessed are the peace makers”. It did not say blessed are the peacekeepers. Making peace implies action; we make something happen in order to have peace. Keeping peace implies a status quo; being still while life and people and opportunities and decisions pass by. But we keep peace so that we avoid any uncomfortable feelings or confrontations that peace making would require of us.

Back to those tip toeing toddlers. Maybe we can learn something from them. Sometimes we can tip toe and sometimes we need to run fast on our well skilled feet.

I am examining my relationships and the open doors that have been presented to me; things I’ve been tip toeing around. I am asking myself the important questions about why I avoid opportunities. Why do I allow certain situations to take up residence in my life? What opportunities have I missed because I am fearful of failure? Do I have malnourished relationships that need my attention? Do I have relationships that suck too much energy from me? Is the pace of my life too slow or too fast? What changes do I need to make? What peace do I need pursue?

I am writing letters to myself in my journal targeted at getting the answers to these questions.

My toes are tired, and I am ready to run. You might say I am greeting life with a new perspective these days. With a dinosaur “RAH!” and I am running to make peace with it.

#tiptoe #peacemaker #dinosaur #toddlers #grownups #growthmindset #takeinventory