What About Those Unexpected Turns in Your Life Journey?

Last month I was on a literal mountain top skiing with my son. I had hoped for one of those wonderful spring ski days, as I had grown up skiing and had not skied for years. I missed a blue sky, white puffy clouds over the snow-covered mountains, jump on the ski lift over and over kind of day. The day we skied was something I had imagined for a while. It began with many good, long runs to warm up my ski muscles. Next, we moved over to another part of the mountain. It was time to tighten my boots.

We made it to the top of a new run that was a bit steeper than the earlier runs, but nothing that I hadn’t conquered over and over in the past. I started out and enjoyed coming down the mountain at a nice, controlled pace. In my head, I heard the perfect song that brought me that rhythm I was looking for. Without any forewarning, I suddenly felt myself float, fall, and slide down the mountain. I heard a pop. When I stopped, I knew my left shoulder was not the same.

A nice young woman from the ski patrol stopped to check on me. She called someone for a medical evaluation. A man showed up and asked those necessary questions and we all agreed that I would not slide down the mountain on my bottom, so he called for a toboggan.

I had been on ski mountains enough over my lifetime to watch many poor souls take a ride down in a toboggan steered by someone else, trusting they will make it down. This time it was me. Not ever thinking that the toboggan driver is a real person with a special skill to navigate this type of sled, I met my driver, named Bulldog. With that name and a confident, calm personality, I knew I could trust him.

During my ride, I was tightly bundled in a very warm blanket, with snow gently spitting in my face. Bulldog was careful on his mission. As he worked to carry me down, I reflected on how pretty the trees looked and how my day and the rest of my week had quickly changed. In a short time, I went from the mountain top to the valley hospital.

Life is truly a journey. You know those places where you feel the best. Maybe it is a mountain top where you feel the exhilaration of being up high, touching the clouds. Maybe it is a lake or ocean if you love the water. Even though you want to stay there in your life journey, you may be compelled to move on.

Right now, you might be in a valley of shadows. It may be a long time since you have been to the water or the mountain. You may feel stuck and cannot find your way out. You keep looking down or in front of you for the way out, and those shadows keep getting darker and your fear and anxiety seem to join them.

Maybe you have forgotten how things looked and felt from the mountain or the lake. The same mountains where you touched the sky and saw everything around you, now make the shadows that darken everything. The water that sparkled as it reflected the sunlight now fills the small stream slowly moving in a dark, snake-like fashion alongside you.

Instead of allowing that paralyzing fear to sit on your head, stop and take a deep breath. Sit down on a rock or on the ground. Take another deep breath. Lift your palms up to your chin and under your face. Push your chin up with your hands and open your eyes. Take in your new perspective.

Above the darkness and around the mountain shadows are rays of sunshine and shades of blue. Soak in this new perspective. Feel the fear slide off your head and take a good breath. Stand up, shake off the fear and anxiety and follow the path that shows the light and promise you now see from the rays of sun moving around the shadowy mountains. Maybe you and I will see one another, and others, coming out of the shadows, and we can walk through the valley, follow the stream dancing over the rocks, and hike up a new mountain together.