The plan was to travel to Seefeld, Austria, for Carnival. A few days in the mountains, with snow and cross-country skiing in the fresh mountain air – what more could you want?
Personally, I'm not a big fan of winter, but I let myself be persuaded to come along. Mind you, not even reluctantly: I gladly accept a change of scenery during the usually very monotonous winter training as a welcome change. I didn't even pack cross-country skis, though, but instead a stationary trainer for the hotel balcony with its mountain view.
Arriving in Seefeld, we were greeted by bright sunshine, a pleasant 12 degrees Celsius (by my standards), and green meadows. This was hardly a winter wonderland. The rest of the group was very disappointed, even if no one really wanted to show it: "We haven't had this little snow here in ten years," "You have to be able to cope with bad conditions," "Then we'll just go to the swimming pool more often."
The fact that what we found could be a symptom of the development that is slowly but noticeably spreading everywhere—and yes, which is none other than the damned climate change that some have actually been preaching about for over twenty years—was somehow not discussed. And yes, maybe we really were just unlucky (or rather, I was lucky), and in the coming weeks of March, Seefeld will have fantastic snow as always. But perhaps we are also sometimes very good at closing our eyes to reality.
Every step counts: The motto of Laura Philipps' Renewed Perspective socks | Photo: Philipp Seipp
As a child, for example, I regularly went on skiing holidays with my family to Sölden. Even back then, I wasn't particularly fond of snow and cold. The sauna at the Hotel "Liebe Sonne" was more my highlight, as was Hannibal: an action show that took place every year around Easter on the World Cup slope. For this show, towering elephant sculptures were hammered into the eternal ice of the Rettenbach Glacier, which always fascinated me. The spectacle still exists, but the ice elephants are no longer part of it – the glacier has completely disappeared at that spot.
Climate change isn't some ghost wreaking havoc thousands of kilometers away in the form of hurricanes or earthquakes. Climate change is happening right here. But if it only means we have to put up with a week of cross-country skiing in unusually poor snow conditions, and not have all our possessions destroyed, then it's certainly something we can just shrug off. We'll just try again next year.
Perhaps, precisely because we find ourselves in such a comfortable situation, we should simply understand the signs of the times for what they are: a call to action. For our reality is that the entire world is changing rapidly and at such an enormous pace that we might all too easily be tempted to become passive playthings of these developments.
Perhaps, therefore, instead of seeing change that leaves us feeling powerless, we should focus on a new perspective opening up to us amidst this still breathtakingly beautiful mountain scenery: We can take the initiative, become creative, and use our energy to make the future a little better. This applies not only to a somewhat disastrous carnival trip, but to life in general. This text could have started like this:
The plan was to go all in and focus entirely on running for the next few years. Just a few years after graduating from high school, I was suddenly able to turn my hobby into my profession. What more could you want?
Perseverance: A key to sporting success and social challenges
My parents, for their part, weren't at all keen on professional sports and always advised me to do "something safe." And even though I was past the age where you want exactly what your parents don't want, no one could dissuade me from following my heart. Sports and writing stories were my greatest passions, even in elementary school. I've always wanted to be as good as possible at both. Even if that's not a dream that can be mentioned in the same breath as "a steady income" and "good prospects for success" (and therefore perhaps not the first thing you'd want to reveal to your future in-laws).
The plan worked well until, after numerous hospital stays and months of searching for the cause of my problems, I was told that my body was chronically ill and unsuited for competitive sports. I was told to abandon this goal. For me, it was a devastating blow. Of course, I still had writing. But somehow, one without the other suddenly made no sense at all. What followed were two years of relatively aimless drifting around.
But then I discovered something I'd strangely never needed or even sought in my life: taking responsibility for myself. Not dwelling on the disappointment that my dreams hadn't come true and projecting that frustration outwards. Instead, taking my destiny into my own hands and searching for solutions. Where there's a will, there's a way. And where you see potential, instead of becoming a passive recipient of change, there's always hope and optimism.
Today I am a triathlete and am preparing for my next season. My career is still marked by highs and lows, but I have learned to accept the circumstances and to work truly independently towards what I dream of: a life as an author and as an athlete.
Each of us has such dreams. And each of us has perspectives. Not the same ones, but our own unique ones. And it's a wonderful feeling to be able to say: "Within my means, I did my best." Whether for ourselves, for others, for the environment, or for something that is particularly close to our hearts. Only in this way do dreams endure, only in this way do we get closer to them, only in this way might they even come true. Perhaps they won't – but they certainly won't simply melt away like elephants in the Arctic ice.
In keeping with the blog: The RENEWED PERSPECTIVE socks, which we developed together with Sebastian Kienle and Laura Philipp, also embody the motto "New Perspectives." Learn more about the project .
