Freeze Frame

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog is about how we don't realize the value of stepping back and evaluating our life, and the decisions it is made of, until we get stuck in a situation where we are forced to take a second to step back and evaluate our life decisions.

For those unfamiliar with the term, a "freeze-frame" is a cinematic/theatrical practice which involves time stopping, and everyone is at a standstill, with the exception of one individual, typically the protagonist or narrator of the story. This method is often used for comedic purposes, or to establish a moment for the narrator or protagonist to develop the events leading up the freeze-frame. This is moment is typically found at the start of a film/play and provides the main character with the ability to evaluate the scenario. And with that, now that everyone knows what a freeze-frame is, I'm going to turn the last few days of my life into a freeze-frame styled post.

Now, imagine you're near the peak of a mountain, in the middle of a light snow storm, visibility reduced to about 10-15 feet in front of you. You're waist deep in snow, unable to move your legs due to the weight of the snow surrounding them, and the weight of skis on your feet. On top of that, there's few skiers on the mountain in comparison to the usual crowd on account of the snow, cold temperature and wind, and even fewer who are willing to brave the top of the mountain in one of the thickest powders that Marmot Basin has seen in a long time, so you can't count on anyone coming by to help dig you out. With that, your partner is already down that stretch of the hill, and in a similar situation farther down. And finally, you're battling the fatigue you feel in your legs that you get on your second last run of the day, after a full day of skiing. Now that I got that scenario in everyones minds... freeze-frame!

Yup. That was me a couple of days ago. On top of a mountain, waist deep in snow (no exaggeration on this one, the snow was just past my ski pants), low visibility and quite exhausted. As far as modern day civilian freeze-frame scenarios go, thats not too bad, if I may say so myself. So lets time travel about 8 hours prior(ish), to the start of the day, and see how many silly decisions I made to land myself in the scenario.

Firstly, the weather. Due to it being a fairly cold day, I decided to double up on my gloves, wearing both magic mitts and my usual ski mitts. This resulted in a decreased in mobility in my fingers, and helped fuel the decision of leaving my ski poles behind. As a skier who prefers using poles, yet is still proficient without them, sacrificing them to improve the warmth of my hands is a common decision. However, skiing in such harsh conditions without the extra balance and propulsion through the thick areas of snow that the poles provided was certainly a costly mistake, as the my gloves were successful in holding out the temperature, and I didn't feel any of the cold in my fingers, and I would have been  better off with the poles.

Another mistake was the over-exertion of my energy. One problem I tend to have, not only with skiing but even with things such as Kung Fu, is that I fail to see the necessity and importance of taking a break to rest muscles and catch breath. My legs were screaming by the third run of the day, and they continued to get worse, even on the easy green runs. So, on the seventh run, doing one of the most difficult tracks on the hill probably wasn't my brightest idea. Or even remotely close to being on the better half of all of my ideas. Part of the reason I ended up sinking so far into the snow was my inability to turn as much as I should have been doing due to the fatigue, and I ended up sinking deep as a result.

I could contiue with all the little mistakes I made that day, but I think I got my point across already (and if I'm not going to pit you poor souls into reading a novel). However, while my life freeze-framed and I was too tired to try and dig my way out, I took that moment to reflect on the glories and mistakes of my life, some of which I mentioned in the last few paragraphs. Being able to look at those past moments, I was able to decide that who we are as a person is shown in the contrast between our past actions and the ones we make on a daily basis. Life is about improving ourselves by looking at our past and our mistakes, and changing our approach to overcome the obstacles that once slowed us down. Life is a big jumble of activity and excitement, and we constantly lose sight of the past focusing on the future. Yet the best way into a more successful future often lies in the past. So sometimes, looking back might actually just help you on your walk forward. (Metaphorically of course. Walking backwards isn't really ideal.)