Skating on Thin Ice

My sister never ice skated, but really wanted to try. Today, I gifted her the experience of I-am-determined-and-I-don't-care-about-bruises.

While watching her learning to skate, I thought of an interesting allegory. Skating is a lot like any other new experience in our lives...

Any novelty is preceded with a bit of anxiety and excitement, and some fear of something unknown. Once you make your first step on the rink, you realize that you have no idea what to do, and you are about to fall. You grab whatever or whoever is there by you, so to gain some support. You keep falling and rising. At some point you either loose your determination and quit, or bring together all your will power and make another effort. You reach that breaking point between I-don't-know and I-know. You start skating short distances at a time, until you gain more confidence. One day you realize that you know how to do it, and it is a piece of cake...

But the ice is unpredictable. Your skills might betray you unexpectedly when you hit a bump. You might fall and raise to look back and see what caused your failure. That bump taught you a lesson and you try to avoid it every time you make a new circle.

You progress. You learn how to make new tricks. You learn to jump. You feel really confident, but you are never sure if the ice you are scratching is not going to ruin your life.