Skating on thin ice?
When I’m experimenting with something new, I’m often a bit tentative, not sure that what I’m messing around with is solid enough to hold the full weight of my being.
In times like these, I picture myself standing on the edge of a frozen body of water, asking “Is this ice thick enough to hold me?”
The Swedes have a different relationship to frozen water than the rest of us. They’ve grown up ice skating on the frozen water. And when they go out, they have these tools they bring with them: two sturdy plastic hammers with metal tips attached by thin cords to a collar that they can wear around their necks.
It’s for when they fall through the ice and need a tool to climb out of the hole in the ice so they can skate home.
When they go out ice skating, it’s just part of the gear. Hats, mittens, coat, skates, and ice pick. It’s no big deal to bring their emergency self-rescue ice picks. I admire the self-reliance and self-trust that shows!
This tool says to me: Yes, learn to pay attention to the weather. Yes practice discernment for whether now is the time to go out on the ice, or not. But also? Sometimes stuff happens.
So will I trust the ice is thick enough to hold me and my dream? (whether for career/health/relationship/finances)
Can I trust what I’m trying to bring into being? What if I fall through?
Everybody falls down; it’s inevitable. Some wipeputs are my own fault; some I had no control over. It doesn’t matter because it’s already in the past.
What does matter is how I respond to it. If it was my fault, I can either stay down or get back up armed with the knowlege to swerve sooner the next time. I can either wallow in self-pity or channel that negativity into something positive. And asking for help is always a valid option for either situation!
Did I ever consider that the most meaningful choices I’ve made in this life have come when I dared venture out on a metaphorical frozen sea? Before, it had never occurred to me that I could walk on a frozen ocean, let alone ice skate on one! But I can!
And so can you!
Let’s never give up on the fun of ice skating in life!
1 Comment
Yes I can, thanks for the reminder!