Every morning I take my dog for a walk. We go early; usually before 8am.  And every morning we see lots and lots of earthworms.  Some are crawling back to the grass, some are being eaten up,and some are dry and crusty.  Ew!  So this morning I was thinking to myself, “I’m glad I’m not an earth worm”.  How awful it would be to be washed out of the cozy green grass by the rain, only to end up on the side walk to be stepped on, chewed on, dangling on the end of a sharp hook as bait, or left for dead.  Poor things.  They don’t have eyes, so they can’t see, but they can tell if they are in the dark or the light.  They don’t have ears, so they can’t hear.  However, they can feel the vibrations of an approaching animal.  They don’t have lungs, but breathe through their skin, so it is very important that they stay moist.  They don’t have teeth, but the food they eat and the left-overs are full of rich nutrients.  That’s why the farmers and gardeners love to have them in their soil.  They also provide more air and water to our soil by burrowing. I bet you didn’t know that worms have 5 hearts.  Not 1, but 5!!

As Scooter and I continued our walk, I started to think about all the good things a worm provides.  Besides the rich nutrients for our soil, he is the breakfast of choice to young baby Robins. Foxes, snakes, and toads, also eat worms. But not every earthworm finds himself on the breakfast table.  When conditions are ideal, an earthworm can live for 8+ years.  Who knew??

By the time we got home from our walk, I stopped feeling sorry for the lumbricus terrestris (scientific name for earthworm).  Some make it and live out  their life doing the job they were created to do.  Some don’t.  They play a vital role to our ecosystem.  We can learn a lot from them.  They are like Nature;s Role Models! So if an earthworm has such important job, surely I must too.

Then I asked myself, “what’s my important job?”

What sort of challenges (like hungry Robins) get in my way?

When conditions are ideal, am I doing my job?

I actually have many  important jobs.  I am a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friends, co-worker, coach, etc.  There are definitely challenges that come my way.  Sometimes I let them slow me down, or even stop me dead in my tracts. But being stuck in the hot sun waiting for a hungry Robin in not my idea of fun.  So I reach out. Or, I ask myself important questions like, what are my choices here?

Why do I feel stuck?

What’s slowing me down and draining my energy?

If I need to make a decision, will it be in alignment with my values, or take me farther away from them?

I use these questions as motivation to get “unstuck” and off the sidewalk.  You could too:)