Saddle up, listen up, take a pee, get a glass of water, do whatever it is you need to do to sit in front of this screen for a little bit of your precious time. This may or may not be my longest post to date.
So life has been a bit mundane and crazy recently. I met a girl a few months ago in one of my classes and have now found myself in a relationship with her. Totally stoked about it. She brings out the best in me without a doubt. She is smart, funny, beautiful, compassionate, level headed, but most of all passionate. I have had my fair share of time being single. Believe me, I have dated around trying to find out what I like most, or what means most to me. There is no magical Google algorithm to it, but when you know you have found something special... you just kind of know.
The snow has finally been falling here in Salt Lake City, and with a new storm front comes new vision. For those of you who have lived in this beautiful city, I am sure that many of you have also felt the suffocating effects of the Salt Lake Valley during the winter. It is awful to see how an inversion can literally suck all of the life out of you. I am so blessed to have an awesome job at Solitude Mountain Resort. Looking back on my time at the ski resort as a ski instructor it has been really fun to see myself progress as a teacher and as a student of the mountains.
This season has been exceptional for me. I have had numerous students who have come back and requested second lessons with me. Maybe other places (downhill resorts, snowboarding lessons) this is a little bit more normal, but I have seen a trend with Nordic skiers. Once they take a lesson, they usually only take one, and then buy gear and are hooked for life. It doesn't seem like I am trying to sell people on more lessons, because I definitely am not (if I had it my way, I would only teach someone twice/season and let them take lessons from other ski instructors and ski other resorts before coming back for another lesson).
One of my favorite lessons has become somewhat of a project for me. He is a very well off business man down in the valley. He shows up every Saturday in his spangly new Porsche with roof rack and skis ready to go. It has become customary for him to just come every Saturday morning expecting a lesson and the chance for both of us to go ski together. It has been really fun for me and also very humbling. I feel like a ski coach to someone who is no doubt almost twice my age (22).
Watching Ben progress from a wobbly out of balance cartoon character to a fluid nordic hopeful has been pretty cool for me. We joke as instructors that we could literally teach a lot of these people the worst/most uncomfortable skiing technique around, yet they would listen to us and try their hardest to do what we tell them. It is amazing to see the amount of trust these skiers put in us as instructors.
Over the past few lessons with Ben we have shared stories about our lives, his kids, his mission to England. I shared with him my dream to ride a bicycle from Vancouver Canada to Tijuana Mexico. He looked at me, said "You know, its funny you'd mention that, I am planning to finish that ride this summer myself. I have all of the maps with all of the best information about shops/hotels/camping/viewpoints along the way, and you can have them." (The maps cost upwards of a 400 dollars for the entire west coast.) Wow!
Today he learned about my compartment syndrome and how it had given me struggles throughout my high school soccer days. Ben laughed, he has compartment syndrome as well, and has since given up running for the past 4 years after being an avid marathon runner....
The funny thing about Ben is that he is so rich, yet never tips. As instructors we don't get any cut of the lesson fee, so we are always hoping for tips at the end of lessons. Knowing that Ben is loaded and doesn't tip used to frustrate me, but after a few months of teaching him. I've realized that the best tip we can give is our time.
Time, woah. Simple, but seriously think about it for a minute. If you have made it all the way down to here, you have either A. noticed the bold "time" and thought "hey, this must be important, because nobody ever bolds shit unless it is important." B. had a really boring night and decided that reading my blog was a good idea, C. don't value other things as much as you value reading my blog, or D. just don't really care much and wonder what I have to say about things.
Our time is so limited, if you think about it, we are all living with a terminal disease. Some just have the luxury of knowing what it is that will inevitably do them in. Sometimes we need a serious reality check. I know I do at least. If I don't stand back and try to look at the big picture, it is so easy for me to get caught up in the little things. Buying a car, selling a car, fixing the new car, stressing about money, what's for dinner?, what will I do tomorrow after work?.... BLA BLA BLA. What it all boils down to is TIME. How it is spent, what it is spent on, and when will you spend your time.
This past week a kid came in to Super Fly and was talking to Chris for a while. He was in a wheelchair (I knew I recognized him, but wasn't sure what from). Once they left I asked Chris if he had been in before because I knew when I introduced myself to him, it seemed awkward, like I knew the kid already. Chris reminded me of the two brothers who were in a few months prior to get some stuff before a road trip up to Oregon to fly. Once in Oregon, the older brother took a nasty crash, paralyzing his legs. Holy Shit.... That kid I saw in the wheelchair 5 minutes ago just walked into the shop 2 months before getting ready for the trip of a lifetime. Little did he know it would change his life.
I asked Chris if they thought he would ever walk again, Chris without hesitation said "Oh yea, he'll come around." I asked how they knew, Chris said "Well, you never really know.".... I didn't think about it much until my drive home that day after work.....
How do we know?.... How do we know things will get better? How does anyone know?
Chris' view was such a breath of fresh air. He had also broken his back in the past and had to hear the "you'll be lucky if you ever walk normally again."...... By now you might be thinking, OK Kam, but how does this all tie together, the girlfriend, skiing, paralysis....
Over the past year I have truly found how to love myself, and love my opinions about things I experience. I have truly learned to believe in myself and not take no for an answer. Part of the reason I enjoy spending time with Courtney (girlfriend) is because she doesn't sell herself short. She believes in herself. Just like Ben believes in me as an instructor and just like patients with diseases/injuries believe in themselves. If you have suffered through my ramblings, I hope you have found some small seed that you can take with you an plant wherever you need it most in your life.
The most precious thing we can give is our time. Time is a gift. We are all incredible people walking a finite line through life, don't let the temporary ups and downs of life take away from your overall desire to live. Because after all..... a life fully lived is just a graceful journey to death. Thank you for your time.
Don't Stop Breaking Down the Doors
Kam
Check out this article, it is well worth your time. Trust me.
http://johnnybtruant.com/edgework/
