Finding the right pair of shoes is like having the right kind of friends. They’ll either cause me to trip and tattoo my sole with blisters, or they’ll fit just right to get the job done, and after walking many roads together I expect I’ll look back on my life amazed at how far we’ve come!
An old pair of thick soled ALDO runners. That’s all I had to start with on my first day to the gym. They had an air of funk on the outside, and I liked them, but could they help me stay grounded?
My awareness of the right runners began here. My old ALDO’s had done me good on hikes, for long walks, to style up a pair of jeans, but when it came to buckling down and getting the hard work done, these kicks didn’t make the grade.
I attempted a lunge; one foot forward, and the other supposedly securing itself behind me, except that it didn’t. The sole was too thick to bend, and the rubber couldn’t grip the wooden floor. How far was I going to get in unyielding shoes like these?
Enter the scene, New Balance, appropriately named since that’s exactly what I was looking for, balance in my life for the long haul.
I took them to my local YMCA for a trial run. The soles contoured to my feet. They flexed as my feet arched and angled. They were comfortable and breathable, and my feet didn’t slip on the floor. These shoes were made for my kind of workout.
The New Balance runners reminded me how important it is to have the right tools with me on my grief journey. The challenges of life are more do-able when I am able to get a grip. The people and resources that keep me grounded are a gift. They are the provisions that equip me to bend so I don’t break, and endure so I don’t fall.
I have a new motto for my work outs at the YMCA, and truly for working through life’s muscle builders in general.
If the shoe don’t fit, find a pair that do. The right fit will help you achieve the best you!
