Reflecting on events

I was at peace reflecting, I had found peace 3 Kms up overlooking the mountain peaks and the endless sea of white snow as I looked down the slope (blue flag) which led to a 20 Km run down to the bottom, and then I pushed off…

I had spent the worst 6 weeks of my life where everything collapsed around me and I was struggling to move on, thankfully my colleagues at work were checking up on me and my friends were calling to check in each day.

Then about 3 weeks into this period, one of my closest friends asked if I wanted to join him and a friend to go last minute snowboarding in Bulgaria before the season came to a close. At the time I was supervising the new CNC machine shop move and installations, but hey I thought why not.

Jump ahead 2 weeks and I found myself on the training slope having never ski or snowboarded in my life (it was one of those bucket list things), within 3 days I was ahead of the class and graduated early for a run on the main slope with an instructor. Each day after class my other 2 friends and I met up (after they went on the black flag runs) and run the last few Kms back down to the bottom.

But on the 3rd day we went to the top of this massive beast of a mountain, the atmosphere going up was nerve racking thinking about how to slow and stop, I also was having trouble turning on my left side moving down the mountain as I couldn’t see, but we climbed to the top and stopped.

The view was spectacular, the air was clear and sunny so I could see for miles around into the distance, there were others around but I couldn’t hear them, it was quiet…peaceful…no-one but me at that point I was able to start reflecting on past events.

It’s amazing being out there with heavy snow jackets and clothing to keep the cold back, I remember at the end of each run I was sweating, but taking the jacket off resulted in being cold within 20 mins.

That 20 Kms run I fell free, but I was at last able to focus my mind away from the issues I had and onto the run, watching for people in front of me, slowing where I could when I was uncomfortable of the acceleration and the turns, but most of all remembering the training and having fun with my friends.

That run lasted probably 30 mins, I fell over perhaps 5 times usually because I didn’t lean back when I straighten the board to slow resulting in the front edge digging into the snow and me flipping over and then laughing, I must have fell 100 times during that week and for weeks afterwards I ache, but I kept getting back up, I wanted to learn a new skill I wanted to snowboard.

It turned out to be one of the best weeks of my life, full of laughs / friendship/ speed/ cold/ beers but most of all I could live and breathe again.

What’s the learning points here?

1. Finding Peace Reflecting in Nature
   1. Sometimes getting out and going just for a walk helps clear the mind and find perspective
2. Embracing New Experiences
   1. There’s so much to embrace and learn, just go find it. Step out beyond the comfort zone and see where those new experiences will take you
3. Overcoming Challenges
   1. Pick yourself up if you fall down, learn to keep going. This underscores the importance of persistence and resilience when encountering obstacles in life.
4. Support of Friends
   1. The people you have around you are your support network. This emphasizes the importance of surrounding oneself with supportive friends during difficult times.
5. Living in the Present
   1. Find the focus in what you are doing, this highlights the power of living in the present and finding joy in the moment, even amidst life’s challenges.

This is probably my ‘vulnerable’ posts, but I wanted to share that at times no matter what life throws at us at work or in our private lives, we can move on (even if it does take some time). Reflecting in my mind being on top of that mountain could be done in other environments (as I’m not saying that you should go up there unless you want to), but for me the peace and the view were able to separate my thoughts long enough to catch up, since I was constantly asking why or how, I never was able to until that point just stop and think on what to do and where I should go.

(Yeah those yellow trousers might have been a mistake!)

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