"Do one thing everyday that scares you. Those small things that make us uncomfortable help us build courage to do the work we do." -Eleanor Roosevelt
Well, what a time to be alive and GRATEFUL for this life and good health. I'd be re-missed to not mention the current collective crisis before posting this update. However, I would like to address my feelings and experiences on this matter in a later post. For now, here is a post that I actually wrote back on March 10th, but did not post as life started getting complicated...Enjoy!
Most recently, I have been living in NH for the winter season and working in a ski resort nursery while looking for a permanent job closer to home. As a girl born in Texas and raised in Oklahoma, I had only skied once prior to moving here. I've slowly but surely been improving my skiing skills, and I would classify myself as an "overly confident beginner" at this point. By that I mean, I can navigate green circles all day, and I can barrel down a blue square like a bat out of hell...forgetting all fundamentals such as the concept of turning or pizza-ing. I just flail my arms and hope I don't take out any small children...So far it's been effective and I've only had one major crash. A win in my book for sure!
So having gained some confidence on downhill skis, I wanted to try something new: cross country skiing. For those of you who may not know the differences, the names are the best give away. Cross country skiing is designed for traversing a variety of snow-covered terrain, from flat expanses to up and down small hills. The skis are very different too. Downhill skis are designed for speed, primarily. Therefor the bottoms of the skis are a bit wider and slick on the bottom. Conversely, cross country skis are much narrower, lighter, and have a special grippy (technical term) surface directly beneath the feet.
The way you clip into cross country skis is also very different. The boots required are much lighter and fit more like a high top hiking shoe. The skis are only designed to clip in at the toes, leaving the person's heels free.
The conditions weren't totally ideal. There were lots of icy patches, hills that I had to take my skis off and walk up, and one hill that took me about five falls to finally make it down. As a person who struggles with perfectionist tendencies, I can easily frustrate myself when I fail or struggle to do something. I felt these feelings of frustration and defeatism, particularly on the icy hill that I could not for the life me seem to get down. But, I reminded myself that these judgmental feelings were counter-intuitive to my goal of being graciously present. So I sat on the ice, laughed at myself, took some deep breaths, and kept going.
By the end of the adventure, I had gained confidence and found my rhythm. I was able to enjoy the sunshine, beautiful big trees, chirping birds, and words of encouragement from my friend and teacher, Drea. I woke to some massive bruises on my booty from falling backward onto my skis, and was humbled by the experience every time I sat for the next week. All-in-all, I would absolutely try cross-country skiing again and was grateful for the opportunity to give it a go before flying back down south. You never know what you are capable of until you try.
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