Wisdom learned the hard way.
This is one of my favorite pictures from our Colorado trip. Truth is, if it were up to me, I would have never even seen that view. I was perfectly fine heading home not having subjected myself to a black diamond run at Copper Mountain. But Caleb just had to do a black diamond and of course my pride wouldn’t let me let him do it without me. This old guy’s still got it after all.
So we made our way up to Gold Digger. You start the run by dropping into a bowl of sorts and have to carry speed over a little up slope before coming up to this view. It was breathtakingly beautiful. The snow capped ridge line in the distance stretches majestically along the horizon. It would be easy to become distracted and disarmed by such beauty.
What you cannot see from this vantage point is the 60 degree drop just past the trees on the left in the foreground. I imagined plummeting to my death and my tombstone reading “If only he had stayed on Lazy River.” And to complicate matters, the whole slope is covered in moguls. Mogul is a French word that means snow covered springboard of death.
Did I mention I am a novice snowboarder? Did I mention I am nearly 50 and not in the best of shape these days? Did I mention it was 3:15pm and I had been snowboarding since 8 am?
How did I end up in this situation? How much would a helicopter ride from here cost? Do I have a pair of clean underwear in the car?
Clearly I survived and made it down the mountain with a story to tell. It was a teachable moment.
How often does our pride get us in over our heads? And how often does the beautiful, shiny thing distract and disarm us from the looming danger? How many near misses have we had along the journey of our lives because of that pride and distraction? This was a fairly tame danger but the lesson applies to much more dangerous situations. Maybe it’s just me.
Did I learn my lesson? Well, I did make it down a black diamond on my third time snowboarding. I am nearly 50 and learning a new skill. Maybe there wasn’t so much danger. Maybe I am the man. Maybe I am invincible after all.
See how deceptive our hearts can be? The reality is I told Caleb to go on without me because I knew I was going to be really slow. (And he did! Stay tuned for a post on never abandoning your 50 year old dad on a black diamond run 😂). The reality is I basically snow plowed for a mile. The reality is I could have laid down on my back and I would have slid down the hill faster. The reality was I was prepared to take the board off and just walk. The reality is I was so tired and slow I didn’t make it to the lift in time to make it back to the area of the mountain where the car was parked and had to catch a bus to get there. I’m not the man and I am certainly not invincible – the soreness in my quads and abs 5 days later are more than enough proof.
So I didn’t buy the “I did a black diamond” shirt and I didn’t find the “I’ve got brown shorts” shirt.
So, keep your head in a swivel. Keep your eyes open for the hidden dangers. Be humble enough to go without the so called glory. Be kind enough to warn others of the dangers you found the hard way. Don’t be afraid to admit you need a little help. You’re not in this journey alone.
Don’t be afraid of a little adventure and getting out of your comfort zone but don’t end up having to catch a bus just to keep up with your teenager either!
Your fellow sojourner and “learn from my mistake” visual aid,
Carl
Snapshots For The Soul 