Skiing down Black Runs

„And God said, I am the Lord, and I will bring you into the Land, which I promised to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give this Land to you, a Land flowing with milk and honey.”

For those of you who know your Old Testament (not many of you), you will recognise this as loosely based on Exodus 6.8, and more or less repeated to Joshua, before he led the people of Israel into the promised land.

I don’t know about Joshua, who seemed pretty fearless, but the entry into the Promised Land looks pretty scary to me. Here I am, on the last day of my full time working life, with the promise of great and wonderful things before me. Well, after 35 years of full time doing whatever it is I used to do, it feels like being at the top of a Black Run.

For those of you unfamiliar with skiing, I need to explain two points. First, skiing, like swimming, cycling or playing a musical instrument, needs to be learned at a sufficiently young age, when such skills can be acquired easily and certainly not at 50 years. My skiing is adequate, not fluent and certainly not automatic. Secondly, Black Runs are the most difficult, usually because they are either very steep or very narrow, or most likely both. I have successfully attempted a number of black runs, sometimes deliberately, but mostly by accident and on all occasions have felt a tinge of fear, bordering on terror as I look down the slope. I succeeded in all cases. I am still here, so that must prove something. At the bottom is the thrill of success, and the knowledge, that I have something to tell friends and family for the next few weeks.

So here I am, standing at the top of the Black Run of retirement. I have made plans as far as I can. I have done the numbers. The next 6 months, at least, is mapped out, and some ideas for 2011 in place. But who knows what will really happen.

The children of Israel had two chances at entering the Promised Land, and they should have taken it the first time. That would have saved them a great deal of trouble, wandering around in the Wilderness. But the Black Run was too frightening and they turned back. Better just to let go (as my son would say “Just do it, dad”) and trust (as Louise would say), and do it.

Well, here goes!