I took this photo April 30 at Little River Falls near Fort Payne, Alabama.  I remember this date very well, because the next photo taken by my camera on this day was when it was being submerged in the waters of Little River Canyon.  I had not planned on trying to take a photo from that accidental vantage point, it just happened.  While attempting to cross the water I fell; not only did I try my hand at unintentional underwater photography, but I dislocated my right shoulder in the process.

        While I would never advise dislocating something as useful as your right shoulder to anyone, there are a great many things this kind of experience can teach a person.  First, accidents happen very quickly; we are never prepared for them and they occur in the places we feel most comfortable (52% of all automobile accidents happen within 5 miles or closer to home).  I have crossed Little River at this spot many times in my life and had never fallen.  I have fallen many times in my life and never gotten hurt; until this day.  This was a place I felt comfortable and had taken its dangers for granted (which reminds me of a little saying about, familiarity breeding contempt).

        Of course you can guess what my problem was on this day.  Think about it, what would you guess was the cause of my fall?  Probably the same thing that causes most automobile accidents and many other problems we face each and every day.  The answer is haste.  I got in a hurry and wanted to cross the water quickly in order to take a picture of some people standing near the falls.  I guess haste does make waste; it also causes pain, suffering, lost productivity and a host of other unpleasant experiences.

        Today, let us learn to slow down and enjoy the common everyday things that surround us each day.  When we rush through our days with a hustle and bustle that would make our parents woozy and dizzy from all our mad activity we are cheating ourselves and the people who love us.  Why do we have so little pleasure and enjoyment in our lives?  Because we are constantly breathless for no real reason and busy doing nothing as we cram more and more into our demanding schedules.  Let us slow down and take our shoes off.  Then, we just might find the place where we are standing has become holy ground.

Something to think about:

• If God sends us on stony paths, he will provide us with strong shoes.

• I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet. 

• People in a hurry cannot think, cannot grow, nor can they decay. They are preserved in a state of perpetual immaturity.

• What is destructive is impatience, haste, expecting too much too fast.

• We move through life in such a distracted way that we do not even take the time and rest to wonder if any of the things we think, say, or do are worth thinking, saying, or doing.

• Slow me down, Lord; I am going too fast.
  I can’t see my brother when he’s walking past.
  I miss a lot of good things day by day;
  I don’t know a blessing when it comes my way.

• What’s the use of hurrying when there’s a perfectly good day coming tomorrow that hasn’t even been touched.

• Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it.

Has anybody seen my shoes?
Rickey Moore
To see Moore photos that have sole visit www.rlmoore.com