“The Reset.”
One day, I was snowboarding high up in the Cascades. The powder was deep! The kind of powder that would swallow you up. Typically I was accustomed to boarding on hardpack snow where focus on maintaining the correct edge is required or you pay the price of being body slammed either forward or backward, WhuBam! Pain is a quik teacher. Keep on the right edge or else! But Powder?! This was very different, boarding became surfing, solid became liquid. For the first time, snowboarding met my early expectations and I was surfing on a qausi liquid powder having a blast, going for it hard!
Falling was painless, a poof into the fluff; getting up was hard, an exercise in frustration. Put a hand down to push yourself up and it simply disappears into the fluff, your feet are locked onto the board so getting into position and up and going again required great effort, physical contortions, and a proper launch, getting to speed quickly was important, otherwise I’d just sink.
I found myself on a high ridge where the powder was particularly deep. I fell. Struggled mightily to get up and fell again. This happened consecutively at least five times. I’d get going a bit and wipeout. AArgh! I was super frustrated, something did not add up! I was getting pissed!
A small voice inside called on me to pay attention. I noticed my heart was beating at an incredibly high rate. Really high, like I’d never experienced before. So, I held still, stopped trying to get up, and just breathed. I needed a reset.
I rested a good five minutes and just breathed, my heart rate returned to a normal range and I took off with relative ease, my skill level returned to normal as well, and I no longer fell. I learned somthing about myself.
This past week of being bed-ridden with the flu brings this old snowboarding experience to mind. Before the fever struck me down and forced me to bed, I was in the powder, struggling to get up. Deeply frustrated, forcing it, pushing ahead nonetheless with a myriad of circumstantial demands. It seemed that every step forward would bring new complications and more uncertainty. I needed a reset.
This past week has been a forced reset for sure. I’ve been held in place like a bug pinned to an entomologists board. Not going anywhere! Today my fever is 100, first time it has been below 101 in over 6 days. WOO HOO! I’ve also shed some unwanted pounds. Nice side effect.
I think I’m reliving the same lesson I learned on that powdery mountain 20 years ago, if you are struggling, if tou are frustrated, if you are getting pissed off, and you keep falling each time you try to get going, then stop. You need a reset.
I hope now, as I move forward up and out of my sickbed this week, that my reset will allow me to ride on top of the powder and surf again. Renewed and reset to navigate successfully.
Ben Wagner ( 208)
Member The 365 Commitment
