Absolutely Amazing! That’s what snowboarding was like a few days ago. We were vacationing in Maine and spent the day at Mt Abram. As I think back to that day, what made it so special? Well, it started as I woke up to fresh snow falling from the sky. If you are living in New England right now, you know how unusual it is to see it snowing this winter. I was filled with appreciation. As we were driving to the mountain, I didn’t have any expectations of the day. I wasn’t sure what it would be like to snowboard while it was snowing, but I felt open and willing. We got on the mountain mid morning and the snow was accumulating pretty fast. On my very first run, I noticed how my board was just floating in and over the snow with little effort on my part. There was so much ease with no resistance. I started going down much more challenging trails, ones that I wouldn’t normally take. Falling in the fresh snow felt like falling in a huge vat of cotton balls. It was fun and didn’t hurt one bit. I was willing to take a risk without a concern of making a mistake. Run after run, I had a big smile on my face. This was a blast! When I did fall, I just laughed big and got back up. It was joyful and easy. And probably the biggest thing for me that made it so special, snowboarding that day felt really messy. It wasn’t pretty. My arms were swinging around, my turns were all over the place and I fell a ton. You certainly wouldn’t liken me to Shaun White (okay- maybe just with the crazy hair). But it wasn’t about how it looked that day. I didn’t need to it be neat and pulled together. I gave myself permission to be messy and with that, I felt a huge amount of freedom. I couldn't help but to draw some easy parallels between my snowboarding experience last week and how I want to live my life. Was the snow really what made that day so amazing? Was it something inside me, some clarity or connection? Was I just in a good mood? Does it even matter?
This morning, I woke up deciding to live like I’m on the top of a mountain. And yes, it’s snowing.