Initiation Intuition

An interesting thing often happens on the ski slopes. You reach a certain point, and suddenly notice that everyone has stopped. “Pray tell! What has happened. What deadly terrain lies below?”

Chances are, there is nothing of significance. The terrain is often no stepper that the terrain above. There have been no wipe outs. There are no moguls. But since everyone is gathered at this point, we fear the worst. In fact, we are convinced that there is something terrible down there.

Here is what’s really wrong. By stopping, and allowing oursleves to ponder the worst, we’ve lost our initiation intuition. The slopes have their logic. If you allow them to lead you, you will know the exact time and place to initiate the next turn. But if you allow your intellect to control the process, you might find that your turns go across the hill, looking more like crossword puzzles than circles.

An instructor once told me that if you start your turns across the hill, every turn becomes the first turn, along with that pesky first turn “yikes factor.” On the other hand, if you follow along the line where the mountain has been leading you, you might find yourself dancing with gravity!

Now using skiing as a metaphor for life, I'll take this one step further for our non-skiing friends. Think about the “trail” that represents your life. While many people might tell you that there is a path that you are “supposed” to take, what does your intuition tell you? Are the obstacles ahead of you real, or perceived?
My friend, mentor, ski instructor, acting coach says, “Don’t make it happen, let it happen.”

How does this apply to your life?

Discuss.