A Call for National Walk in the Snow Day

Okay, okay, I freely admit that I haven’t posted in several weeks; however sometimes it takes me a long time to write what I need to write about events I attended and the thoughts I had, but I have found that walking in the snow lately has helped me get over my writer’s block. In fact, this whole walk in the snow routine reminds me that 28 February 2009 marks the 25th anniversary of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, our late, and in my mind great, prime minister, taking his now-famous “walk in the snow”. For those that don’t know the story, Trudeau walked alone in a snowstorm until midnight on 28 February 2009 wherein he made – or confirmed – his decision to step down as prime minister. The next day, 29 February 1984, he announced publicly that he was stepping down. So, in honour of Trudeau’s walk in the snow, I think we should all take time on Saturday 28 February 2009 for our own “walk in the snow.”

Let’s encourage everyone to get out for, what we should call it, I dunno, how about “National Walk in the Snow Day”. Of course, not everyone will face the decision to step down as prime minister and not everyone will make the “right” decision that will be best for everyone involved. Remember during Trudeau’s tenure as prime minister we received great things, such as the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and we received not so great things, such as the National Energy Program. In taking a walk in the snow this weekend, the decision you think about – and maybe postponed – could be about whether you take a job in a different city, about whether you reveal a secret to your family, or about whether you purchase a one way ticket to a foreign country.

The thing about decisions is that you can only make them with the information that is available to you at the time of the decision; remember only the passage of time will tell you if you’ve made the correct decision. The walk in the snow may only result in telling you to jump headlong, but responsibly, into something. See the benefit of walk in the snow is that it gives us that chance to focus our thoughts by freeing them from distraction, and instead of postponing decisions that we have been avoiding, motivate us to make and, ultimately, accept our decisions. Enjoy your walk in the snow on 28 February 2009.