A Winter Wonderland

This weekend, I tried skiing for the first time ever.  I knew it would be much more difficult to learn as an adult since we are higher off of the ground and we have a fear of getting hurt that children lack.  It was a whole new experience for me- one requiring a new ski outfit and being completely new and bad at something right away.  I had this feeling that I would LOVE it instantly and would kind of just be hooked.  Even though the websites I read said that learning to ski alternates between hard and boring with very few "sweet spot" experiences, I still have to say that I really enjoyed it.

First of all, it was so much fun to go somewhere that looks completely different from what I see every day.  That gorgeous view of the mountains, the trees, and the sky just completely refreshed me... especially when the sun was just starting to set.  There's something about a new and different view to shake up your outlook.

Secondly, as an over-thinker, it was so much fun to get out of my own head.  The only thing I could possibly focus on was trying to do the several things at a time that experienced skiers do naturally but that didn't feel natural to me.  At one point, one of the instructors (after I had told him that since I focused on looking up, I forgot to lean forward) said to me, "Take a deep  breath.  Don't think about it.  Just do it."
It was interesting to me not only how quickly a total stranger could identify one thing that I know is holding me back at times, but how many situations in my life that that advice could apply to.  It's definitely messed up many other things I wanted to do or would have tried if only that voice in my head casting doubts or thinking of every-case scenarios wasn't so loud.  The funny thing was that as soon as I listened to that advice, and just watched what he did and did it myself, I improved really quickly.

My goal for the day was just to go down the bunny slope by myself without falling... and I did it eventually, after feeling scared to death, feeling out of control, and falling awkwardly many times.  But in skiing, everyone is falling, and we can see it so easily.  In life, sometimes since we're most aware of our own falls, it seems like everyone else is just cruising along while we keep falling down.  But just like in life, there's only one good option when you fall skiing- pick yourself up,  dust yourself off, and keep going... because one fall just means you're up and moving and learning, not that you're down for the count.  Leaving for the day, I felt like my soul was so peaceful for a while, that the view of those snow-dusted trees and slopes and the new experience both calmed me down and thrilled me.