Minding The Big Picture- Sandy Kobrock

No one heads out the door in the morning saying,
“Today is the day I am going to die in an avalanche.”
So how do we go from kissing our loved ones good-bye in the morning to the misfortune of being caught in an avalanche and not surviving?

 

An easy miss is to focus on The Small Picture instead of The Big Picture.

Backcountry: Small Picture

We take all the right actions – check the weather, make a plan, observe the snowpack, communicate with our group.  However, by drawing the camera lens back to a larger perspective, we see we shouldn’t be there at all.  There is just too much avalanche hazard in our route choice, the terrain is too complex, the consequences of misjudgment are too serious on this day.

 

Life: Small Picture

As humans we do this at our workplace and with our loved ones as well, taking offense over an imagined slight, a funny look, or off-handed comment.

Pull the camera lens back, gain that wider perspective, and suddenly you notice how petty the situation is.  It probably isn’t about you at all; that person is having a tough day and is not aware of your presence in their drama at all.

 

Why do we ignore The Big Picture?

Why do we do this? Do we get to be “right” or feel vindicated? Or maybe it’s just habit – what we’ve been taught? Or perhaps it feels easier to make our choices from The Small Picture?

 

The Truth

What we truly want is happiness, a fulfilled life, vibrantrelationships, and a healthy spirit.

 

Investing time and energy in the drama, the Small Picture, when we think about it, is not the path we want.

 

So often we don’t recognize that we have a choice.

 

Is It Worth It?

During this winter of high uncertainty one phrase kept ringing in my head:   “Is It Worth It?”

 

Keeping this query in the forefront of my thinking I often forewent the short-term, steep powder thrill for the Big Picture.  When I stopped and thought about it, my Big Picture Outcome was to be laughing with my family around the dinner table at day’s end.

 

When we make The Big Picture our natural response with our families, at work, and in the backcountry, we create our Desired Outcome: happiness, fulfillment, vibrant relationships, and a healthy spirit.

 

Because, if the worst happens, if the life of a friend, or loved one is cut short, was being focused on the Small Picture the choice we really wanted to make?

 

 

In the next newsletter I’ll offer some ways to move from the Small Picture to the Big Picture.

 

 

Are your choices aligned with your Big Picture? Are you trapped in the Small Picture watching your life slip past? The shift from Small Picture to Big Picture, from frustration to fulfillment, is easier and faster when you have support.

 

I invite you to email me with “Let’s Connect” in the subject line, and we’ll schedule a one-on-one, private, next steps activation call for you. We will connect in, hear what’s happening, and contribute to you gaining clarity about your best next steps. You will be amazed by the miracles that take place from this very special process.

 

Through Adventure Coaching Sandy offers life coaching focused on decisions, as it is from individual decisions that you create your life.  Whether it’s completing that book you have been putting off writing, or replacing overwhelm with peace, Adventure Coaching can help.
Sandy has trained as a life coach with the Coaches Training Institute, Enwaken Coaches Training, Radical Forgiveness Coaching. She has been  a corporate trainer, a  ski patrol director, a mountain guide/instructor, and river guide. Sandy has years of experience making (good and bad) decisions in high risk environments.

Finding Peace Where There Is No Peace 3 Effective Post-Trauma Actions- Sandy Kobrock

As I pen this missive eight backcountry mountain travelers have died this winter in snow avalanches in Colorado and twenty-five have died in the U.S.  Many of us have experienced a close call in an avalanche this winter or known someone who has had a close call with an avalanche.  We experienced two tragic backcountry deaths in two days in early March here in southwestern Colorado.  Even if you haven’t suffered a wake-up call or profound loss through a snow avalanche this winter, we all suffer losses of friends, family, pets, job, income, and relationships as an ongoing part of life.  If you listen closely, you can hear the silent wails of grief echoing from the mountains of the West.

 

Ironically this anguish actually initiates us into the process of healing our grief.  Experts in counseling encourage us to allow the waves of pain to flow, as they crash like waves on the beach, ebb for a while, then crash again.  This natural flow is part of our deep self-care.  Like a physical wound’s blood flow cleans the wound, letting the pain flow when our wounds are deep and raw allows our grief to run it’s natural course.

Like a healing salve protects and soothes a physical wound, actions of deep self-care soothe our emotional wounds.  Here are three soothing actions to try as those waves are crashing:

1. Light a Candle
Hold the person, or object of your loss, gently in your mind and heart.  Feel their presence, their spirit, their life, all that you cherished about them, all they brought to your life.  Write about it, share your thoughts and feelings with another person.  As you do this, light a candle as a symbol of their light in your life, a light that is not extinguished by their physical absence.

2. Take a Walk     Being outside in nature, in the sun, the wind, the snow, the rain is soothes our spirit, especially those of us who love the outdoors and wild nature.  The timelessness of nature reminds us of the natural cycles of change.  It calls to mind our place in the big picture of the natural world.  The repetitive nature of walking is grounding and calming, and physical movement assists our energy in shifting and moving, as it must do when we are adjusting to a new reality.

3. Soak in a Hot Spring     Many of us in the West are fortunate to have a natural hot springs close by.  (A hot bath or hot tub also suffices).  Water soothes and relaxes us.  Adding bath salts and calming essential oils like lavender and roman chamomile assist in drawing toxins out of our body produced by the stress of trauma.  Allow the water to support you and warm you as you let ‘what was’ and ‘what now is’ integrate in your being.

 

Change may be constant and unavoidable in our lives, but that doesn’t always make it easy for us to integrate those changes.  If you are experiencing shifts in your life, it can make sense to receive support.  I invite you to email me with “Let’s Connect” in the subject line to schedule a 1-on-1, private, next steps activation call with myself. We will connect in, hear what’s happening for you, talk about what shifts you are experiencing, and support you in gaining clarity about your best next steps. You will be amazed by the miracles that take place from this very special process.

 

 

In The Spirit of Adventure,

Sandy

Adventure Coaching

The Pass Creek Yurt

The Wolf Creek Avalanche School

Mountain Community

We are enveloped by spectacular mountains, which many of us were drawn here by their beauty and desire for exploration. We pursue new adventures and surround ourselves with those who share the same passions.  Those people become our friends, partners, community, and family.  The mountains can challenge us which allows us to create a certain bond with partners of trust and respect. This is a beautiful relationship that happens due to the connection in outdoor adventures. We are fulfilling and enriching our lives with a calculated risk. Each day we play in the mountains must come with preparedness and awareness.