In the moment before us, we are offered what we most need for the moments after that…
I wonder how often I’ve missed that grace, with my eyes on the horizon instead of that directly before me…
This week we cross-country skied what I consider the best trails in Western New York. Conditions ~ plenty of snow, cold temperatures, and pristine grooming… made for a winter wonderland delight.
We were skiing with just enough of a challenge to qualify as a workout, and every trailbend rewarded us with landscape masterpieces and picturesque images.
If you are not a cross-country skier, reports of ‘perfect conditions’ may not describe the upward practice of herring boning.
Herringbone is a cross-country skiing technique that involves angling the skis out to the side in a “V” shape to maintain grip. It’s used when other techniques are not effective, such as on steep hills or in challenging snow conditions.
The technique requires one to step out of the easy, smooth-gliding tracks to reach the top of the hill. Left to the tracks, usually results in a backward glide, or a full-blown fall.
Usually, when I approach these challenges, I take a deep breath, look at my goal and start clomping up the slope encouraged by the fact I see myself getting closer and closer. Twenty? Fifty?…“clomps of determination?”
This time, with the same inner feeling I’ve been facing our nation’s current reality, I chose to only look at the step in front of me…
One…, two…, forty-five, forty-six…seventy-five, seventy-six… Eyes and grit focus right before me so that I do not miss a step, an opportunity, a gift… resulting in slipping backward…
Upon reaching 100 “clomps,” I caught a brief peek of how much further I had to go (no one’s perfect!) And I started once again…
One hundred-one, one hundred-two…
I made it at one hundred seventy-five. A number I probably would have perceived as unachievable had I just looked at the unsurmountable top…
Eyes on the goal are okay… because holding that goal in my heart offers me hope. But right now, my inner wisdom is telling me to not miss the gift of each step… (clomp… and yes, even stumble) along the way… because there are many lessons to be learned.
