One Small Step

An iconic saying for our generation, “That’s one small step for man. One giant step for mankind” is attributed to Neil Armstrong as he stepped onto the surface of the moon. However, what Neil Armstrong insists he actually said and the tapes from NASA confirm is “That’s one small step for a man. One giant step for mankind.” Interesting how millions of people hearing the broadcast live on July 20, 1969 heard one thing while Armstrong actually said something else, isn’t it!

I thought of this saying earlier in the week when a group of high school friends were planning to meet over lunch this month. Patio dining was now allowed! We had all had our first shots, and some our second! We felt the need to celebrate! Only 4 were allowed at a table? Well we could just use more than one table and move them closer together! This didn’t sound like Armstrong’s small step to me….

Armstong’s quote is the way forward from this pandemic. If everyone was to take one small step toward a more normal life, and then another, and another, that would result in a giant step being taken by this province, this country, this continent and around the world. Only in distinct, incrementally slow steps, will we emerge from this trauma. My small step (two plus weeks after getting my second shot), is to have a couple over for coffee on the patio. They are our children’s god-parents and have been part of our life for almost 60 years. We last saw them in November, 2019. I hope to follow that up with other equally cautious forays out into the outside world over the summer.

Scott Peck in his book “The Road Less Travelled” says (and I paraphrase) that we can’t get from A to C without going through B. But as human beings, I have noticed, we want to jump whatever lies between where we are and where we want to be. But it is in that interim step that lessons are learned and problems are overcome. Growth whether it is how we deal with a pandemic, mature in our faith, or relate to our families, never comes without ‘blood, sweat, and tears’. But the end result is worth it. So enjoy taking those baby steps this summer as we all venture cautiously out into the world again.

BTW, the group came to a consensus to wait until the fall to have lunch together …. with just a little nudging…

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NUDGINGS: a journey into the unknown

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