Unfortunately after a car wreck about ten years ago, I was paralyzed from the neck down. When that happens you, start to miss a lot of things your body just simply cannot do anymore. One of the things I miss the most is ice skating. I’m going to do my best to explain why…
Walking into the rink or up to the pond was always a different feeling. You knew that soon you would be set loose onto a frozen surface just waiting to make your mark.
While tying my skates, I could feel more and more anticipation grow in my heart, with every swoop of the lace. And finally you step on the ice…
The first few strides you take are breathtaking. The cold, crisp air engulfs your body and sends a shock through your body and mind.
It breathes new air into your lungs and it’s only a breath that you can take in by being privy to the oxygen this icy surface provides.
As you take your first trip around the frosted over track, the awesome realisation sets in that you are gliding through this world of unmitigated resistance.
At that moment you are truly FREE.
Your unbearable job, toxic relationships, detrimental vices, and every daunting restriction that suffocates your happiness is wiped away from your mind.
Once you are void of all negative influence, the flow of pure enjoyment rushes into your body like an Avalanche racing down a steep mountainside.
Your legs instinctively pick up speed. Faster, faster and faster.
You are an acrobatic jet moving through the air swiftly with exact precision. All you hear is the wind whistling by your ear and all you feel is the crunch of the ice under your skates.
Each time your skate touches the ice, it adds another beautiful stroke to artistic masterpiece you creating on this frosty canvas.
However, nothing is perfect.
Suddenly you hit an imperfection that has routed itself in the smooth ice that surrounds you.
What once was the single thing that welcomed such tranquility has now pulled you into a panic state. You crash down to the sub-zero platform.
Cold. Rushing pain. Freezing.
This is a betrayal…
No. This is a lesson in unpredictability. You have stepped on this ice one thousand times before and you’ll step on it one thousand times more.
There will forever be an imperfection in the ice, no matter how well you believe your knowledge may suffice.
There is always something new to learn. As long as you are willing to listen, the ice is willing to speak to you.
You pick yourself up and skate away. Better with what you have learned and a stride smarter than before.
While your time on the ice may run down, you reflect on the past skates, present and future ones too. But the best part is, you always leave the ice with a smile and never a frown.
This is what the blades on the ice means to me. It is something I will never forget, never regret and always hold dear to my heart until the end of days.
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Episode 84: Three Guys, A League And Our Guests ft. Mike & Marty from 2GALAG
