Newton’s Second Law ‘Sagaciously’ Extrapolated

Everyone has a story. Each one of us has experienced pain, frustration, joy, success, failure, anxiety, elation, anger and so on.  And each of those feelings comes with some kind of a tale. People carry those stories in their eyes, in the wrinkles and creases on their face, in the stooped way that they walk, in the lilt of their voice. Often times I find that some folks are more burdened than others. There are those who exude a heaviness that portrays a life full of hardship, some people radiate so much anger that to get near them fills you with anxiety, some put up such a block of barriers that it’s difficult to feel anything from them, and then there are those who emanate feelings of hope and joy and a will to push on.  But no matter the story, no matter the life, each of us has at some point pushed ourselves beyond our limits. I see the stories and the struggles in the bank teller, the grocery store clerk, the woman at the post office, the gas attendant down at the local Chevron station, and in people I meet everywhere, which brings me to my psychological take on Newton’s Second Law of Motion.

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Isaac Newton’s Second Law states: Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass. The greater the mass (of the object being accelerated) the greater the amount of force needed (to accelerate the object). Force = Mass x Acceleration.  In other words, the more mass of an object, the more force is required to accelerate it.

Each event in our life carries so much mass. My wedding day, the moments my children came into this world, the days my kids told me they were getting married, the time it took for us to close our school, the morning my father passed away, when I learned my childhood dog of over ten years had died, pushing through my senior’s exams for ski patrol, and getting through the difficulties of my childhood… all of those events carry a great deal of mass.  Each one made an impression on me and helped me become who I am today.  All of those experiences evoked very strong emotions inside of me, and required that I push through them. In some instances I struggled and didn’t know if I could find the strength to go on, the mass felt too great. Some evoked mixed emotions, some emotions of pure joy, and some of anger, sadness, and sometimes hopelessness.  But in the end I’ve always found that extra amount of force. I’ve found it spiritually, I’ve discovered it inside of me, and I have discovered it with the help of others.

Of course some of our tales carry very little mass. They require virtually no effort to move through. I believe it’s these tales that can help to lighten our load. These events are similar to a pile of feathers that merely need a puff of air to move. Like sitting with my husband and sharing a funny story, talking with my girls about school and life, having dinner or making wine with my friends, skiing, working in my yard, and walking my dogs – all are effortless and all lift my heart and my spirit and in many ways help to energize and strengthen me for those times when the mass really does seem too great and I’m in need of something more to accelerate through it.

All of us have stories. And the more I get to know people the more I realize the truth in that statement. People have lost children and parents, struggled through miscarriages, gone through divorce, experienced the pain of cancer, and wrestled with addictions. They have been laid off of work, lost their homes, felt the pain of rejection and hate, and experienced failure. On the flip side those you meet have felt the pure joy of holding a newborn baby, the exuberance of falling in love, the thrill of success, the happiness of walking their daughter down the aisle, and the satisfaction of reaching out to find the force necessary to push through the heavier masses.

Newton really seemed to be onto something. He developed his first law about motion about the need for an external force to alter that motion, and then his second law about the relationships between force and mass and acceleration. His third law declares that “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” I’m thinking that law somehow fits human nature too.

It’s Not a Vacation Unless You Add Some Adventure

The more I travel the more I’ve learned – a vacation just isn’t a vacation unless you mix it with a bit of adventure and a small amount of mishap. An excursion off of the road most travelled, a stop in a little known inn, a visit with a couple who doesn’t speak your language, a small misfortune here and there (I lost the only set of keys to a rental car one time – in Croatia!), even a sleepover on the floor in a European airport (yes we did that two years ago) – it’s all good and it all certainly makes the trip more memorable and in my experience, much more enjoyable.

A few weeks ago my husband and I had the opportunity to travel with nearly fifty ski patrollers to Europe for a ski trip.  We hooked up with several of the most excellent skiers in our group and spent an incredible several days creating one adventure after another. The mishaps that befell our small band of skiers, and the various excursions we embarked upon were not only memorable to us, but worth telling to you all.  And, just in case you’re one of those members – I have changed the names to protect the innocent (or maybe it’s the guilty?).

Taking a Break in Parsenn

The tone of the group was set on our first day in Davos, Switzerland. After our leader scored a great deal on tickets we all headed up the tram for a brief introduction to the area by the local ski patrol.  We lost our first member before we even hit the lift. “Nancy” went in to use the bathroom, missed the tram, and we didn’t see her again until dinner that evening. At the top of the lift our second mishap occurred. My husband, who took German in Junior High School, walked into and used the women’s restroom.  He discovered his mistake when a couple of women entered while he was standing at the toilet; stall wide open, taking care of business.  Later my husband and I made a sorry attempt to ride the T-Bar.  I’m 5’ 1” he’s 5’ 11” – the bar does not hit our backsides with any kind of equilibrium!  We made a T-Bar riding plan after that.  The final error from our little band of ne’er do-wells occurred on a visit to the Davos Avalanche Institute later that afternoon. It was during a presentation about snow crystals when a buddy of ours (we’ll call him Randy) dropped and broke their one and only model of that particular kind of crystal formation. Needless to say a good night’s sleep was in order for all of us.

Day number two rolled around. We all filled our bellies with morning goodies and jumped on the bus to head up to the ski area known as Parsenn. The group we ventured off with were, like us, not much for skiing the groomed runs.  Luckily in Europe – you’re responsible for yourself and you ski where you want. We spent the day seeking powder, untracked area, steep chutes, and anything out of the ordinary.  By lunchtime we’d lost “Nancy” again, and we’d lost “Randy” – who we quickly learned was easy to lose.

Choosing a Route

That afternoon our now slightly smaller group had one adventure after the other as we skied more or less without a map and found ourselves in some wonderful out of the way territory.  Sadly the last mishap of the day occurred when “Matt” lost his wedding ring in the snow bank behind a train station in a place called Wolfgang. I’m curious to know how that conversation turned out with his wife, who was back in the states tending to business as usual. We had no luck retrieving the ring, and in the end we all decided that come spring some poor young couple who can’t afford their own symbol of love will find it, making their life together a happily-ever-after.

The following days were full of more adventures and additional slip-ups. At one point “Randy” lost his pole down a serious vertical run where it lodged itself into a rather large area of rocks.  It was rescued, however, by our group photographer “Max”. On day four “Steve” dropped his glove out of the gondola. Thankfully, being the ever-prepared patroller I am (ha!), I had a non-latex medical glove in my backpack. He skied the next hour or so with his hand covered in blue, until he retrieved the lost glove from the drop site. And at the end of that day? Our wedding ring guy, “Matt”, took off from the top of a chair, hit a hole in the snow, and did one of the most spectacular tumbles of the trip. More than likely he partially dislocated his hip, but being the guy he is, “Matt” declined help from the ski patrol, painfully made his way down to the bar, worked his hip back and forth with a series of deep-knee bends and stretches, and managed to pop it back in.  I guarantee you – I would have taken the sled ride!

Spectacular Views

Those are just a few of our stories, or at least the tales I can share for now. Vacations should include adventure, and it is okay if they include a little difficulty now and then.  The miscellaneous escapades and occasional bouts of calamity truly do provide some great moments to remember, and some excellent laughs to share among your traveling companions when you get together weeks, months, or even years down the road.

To all of my Ski Flight pals – thanks for the friendships, and of course for the memories!!