So glad you will join me for the continuing saga of “As the snow flies”. An Alaskan series that has been replaying for the last week and 10,000 years. It would be considered the storm of the century in New York and around the lower 48. News channels would be covering it for days and people would make sure they have a good supply of toilet paper and water. It turns out that the perspective is very different here in Nome AK. The storm flew in on Tuesday without much warning or fanfare. The snow is always sweeping, flying and horizontally passing across the ground, mid-abdomen level. It’s hard to know even where the snow comes from. Does it originate on the ground or in the sky? The native Alaskans knew weather was coming but never looked nervous. It was just another Tuesday and there was going to be “weather”. Weather is not some thing to worry about just some thing to figure out as all obstacles are if you are so inclined. The hospital ended up closing a few hours early when the visibility was nonexistent. I was just given a full head and face covering by one of my colleagues who does worry about weather and has 50 different head coverings. It is called a balaclava but I kept calling it baklava. I prefer to think about Middle Eastern sweet treats rather than warm head coverings. Now you see my priorities. This morning I am supposed to take a very small plane to the fishing village of Shishmaref and the “weather“ is still flying with winds up to 30 miles an hour. I am not fucking flying in this weather! I called the airport who said that things are on hold, thank God! I would have to question whether I was just a New York wimp who is scared to fly in a small plane in weather like this but I think the pilots and myself made the right decision to stay on the ground. When does somebody listen to their inner voice and put their foot down when somethings seems dangerous or chalk it up to ones own internal fears and distresses? Are our inner voices just a reflection of our early experiences and distresses or Intuition based on some internal perception and feeling? We do have to listen to our internal voices because as a species we don’t have teeth and claws to protect ourselves so they are our internal protection but at what point does it just become an internal obstacle? Usually I am not in physical danger but more the danger of humiliation and shame. I know that if I can handle any bad feelings which is just a sensation in my body, then I will be able to take big risks and go after big goals! I do think that not flying in this type of “weather” was probably one of my better intuitive decisions. The other ones I make don’t end up saving my life but keep me living a safe life. Our job on this planet is to evolve to the best version of ourselves we possibly can and since most of us are not in imminent daily danger, or trying to survive let's go after something big. As I Go You Go!!
The snow dump in Nome! The tundra better than pushing it from house to house in the city.