Found Joy in Walking Backwards

Watching the young students in my school walk down the hall this morning, I noticed that many of them like to walk backwards. They are taking backwards steps with their heads cranked sideways so they won’t bump into things.  ” Why?” I wondered. Walking backwards is not something we often do as adults.

So I asked a few- Why do you like to walk backwards?

– its FUN!

– I can do it! I promise I won’t fall.

– I can see my friends and talk with them.

After hearing their responses, it struck me that as adults we do still walk backwards frequently but it is in our minds. We move from physically doing that act to abstractly doing it.

I agree that it can be fun to walk backwards through my memories and reminisce about life when I was younger. Reliving times of my childhood, early adulthood and early parenting often bring smiles to my face and remind me that fun used to fill more of my days. 

Also, in walking backwards in my mind, I won’t fall. I know that pitfalls that are coming and can maneuver around them by stopping the thoughts or diverting with another memory. I can also take the lessons I have learned from my past to help me not fall again in the present day.

And yes, I can see and talk with my friends. Those dear to me that I have lost come back to me as I walk backwards in my mind. Their dear faces pop into my mind as tears and smiles mix on my face. I do talk aloud to them and hope they hear what I am sharing with them. Then I sit and wait quietly for a response or whisper in my heart.

Maybe that backward walking as a young child prepares our bodies for walking backwards abstractly as we grow older because we still need that joy!