Frost Heaves

When you're new to New England your first February on a bright sunny day with lots of old snow sitting in the forests at the side of the road, the country road you're cruising down suddenly has a new sign stating "Frost Heaves".

You don't know what that means and keep cruising then you find yourself launched up to almost hit your head on your inside roof. Next the car drops your springs are being stressed, your wheels cracking and if you keep going the road becomes a real roller coaster.

Frost heaves occur because the melting snow saturates the ground, and then freezes thrusting the frozen ground upward. The results are a washboard effect on the roads. By custom the local towns know which roads are more likely to be broken and post the signs as warnings.

To survive the frost heave you have to drive slower, look closer, work for a more even controlled driving experience.

In our lives as a martial artist 'Frost Heaves' are also a guaranteed experience. Whether from illness, work responsibilities, family needs, or any other issue, these events cause our training to become very bumpy, and the bouncing around from each event can cause us to loose our footing.

We need to take a lesson from our driving experience. When frost heaves are upon us we should slow down, observe what's happening closely, and try to find an even road through the travail.

Training for life is not always an even pace. Training goes up, it falls down, turns sideways, goes backwards, and continues to change constantly . You can't deal with those bumps by blasting forward full speed.

You must work to provide. Your family is more important than anything. Illnesses are always a drag but in each case if you slow down, but not stop, your training you can level your ride and wait for smoother roads to then pick up the speed.

We can't control the frost heaves in our lives, but we can work to find a level slower path through them.