do you know where you want to be?
February 2008
I spent last week in Tahoe, courtesy of my friends
Matt and Mary over at picotrip. I was attempting to get
my cross-country skiing skills up to some
semblance of acceptability so that I can put
them to good use on future expeditions. Let's
just say that up until now my ability on planks
has been more comical than
functional.
One of the places I skied was at picturesque Tahoe Donner, which takes its name from the infamous party stranded hereabouts in the winter of 1846 rather than that well-known Turkish cuisine.
On my first exploration of the trails I swooshed (OK, staggered) up to Sundance hut, which at an altitude of 7035 feet provides a fantastic panorama of the local area. But which way to go next? The map was, at best, ambiguous. An instructor saw me staring intently at the chart and called out across the slope.
"Do you know where you are, and where you want to be?” he enquired.
"Do you mean in life, or just on this hill?" I replied.
I spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about what he said.
Do you know where you are, and where you want to be? If you do, when do you want to get there? And if you don’t, who is in charge of your destiny? Your boss? Your partner? No-one?
One of the places I skied was at picturesque Tahoe Donner, which takes its name from the infamous party stranded hereabouts in the winter of 1846 rather than that well-known Turkish cuisine.
On my first exploration of the trails I swooshed (OK, staggered) up to Sundance hut, which at an altitude of 7035 feet provides a fantastic panorama of the local area. But which way to go next? The map was, at best, ambiguous. An instructor saw me staring intently at the chart and called out across the slope.
"Do you know where you are, and where you want to be?” he enquired.
"Do you mean in life, or just on this hill?" I replied.
I spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about what he said.
Do you know where you are, and where you want to be? If you do, when do you want to get there? And if you don’t, who is in charge of your destiny? Your boss? Your partner? No-one?