Have you ever heard of the Northeast Kingdom? If not, you will probably be surprised to learn that, despite its name, it is right here in the US. To be more precise, it’s the North East corner of the state of Vermont. Most Vermonters just call it “the Kingdom.” My wife, Suzannah, and I spent much of the week between Christmas and New Year’s there, and we had a wonderful time. I love downhill skiing, but we also enjoy trying new things. We enjoyed a day of cross-country skiing, as well as a day of snow showing. Unlike the fast-paced, mogul thumping exhilaration of downhill skiing, cross-country has a slow, quiet, serene pace that really allows one to think. Snowshoeing is much like cross-country skiing in its pace and its closeness to nature although it differs in a few ways.
You cannot glide downhill while wearing a pair of snowshoes. The trails you walk upon, if any, are only as wide as the shoes themselves. Snowshoeing quickly becomes an active hike in the woods that will raise your heart beat, deepen your breath, and make you astoundingly aware of your surroundings. As Suzannah and I snowshoed our way deeper into the mountains, listening to the constant “crunch, crunch” of snow under our boots, we paused. At first, we heard nothing but our own heavy breaths. Once our breathing calmed, there seemed to be not a single sound in all of the world. We looked around at the snow on the trees, the sun in the sky, and we wordlessly decided to leave the tiny path and blaze our own trail toward a small clearing.
It’s a lot more work to blaze your own trail in the snow where no one has flattened the ground for you. In addition to the extra effort, there are more missteps as well. There are small hollows and branches hidden under the snow waiting to trip up a passerby. Despite the extra effort and diligence required, it was well worth it. The further that Suzannah and I walked through the fresh snow, taking turns in the lead, the more this trip got me to thinking. It would certainly be easier to walk along the path that was already laid out for us. The trip would be smoother and our direction certainly more clear, but following someone else’s trail will only let you revisit the places that someone else has already been. There are wonderful surprises out there waiting for you.
So what, you may ask, does this have to do with our package tracking software? Our philosophy for our package logging system has been, and will continue to be as we embark on the New Year, to blaze our own trail. We ask our clients where current package tracking software is lacking and find a way to offer new and improved features. Though there may be some bumps in the road along the way, we learn from them and ultimately keep evolving our package logging system to meet our clients’ changing needs.
As you move into the year ahead, I hope that you take some time to find the places where no one has gone before. Blazing your own trail is hard work and it is full of pitfalls, but the rewards are more than surprising. Creating something that is distinctly your own leaves you with a sense of pride you carry for your entire life. Blaze your own trail. Find your own way. Claim your own rewards. Those rewards belong to only you.
Leave a Reply