Our recent skiing holiday in Japan (Nozawa Onsen) was a sensory experience. The food mades every meal a culinary adventure, the scenery (with it's snow covered silver birches and it's mountainous vistas) was awe inspiring, the people made the rest of the world look like bogans, the Onsens were bliss beyond belief,and the powder snow....
I kept pinching myself to remind me how priveliged we were to be experiencing all this wonder, but at the same time, my levels of frustration were off the charts! By day 4, I had decided I was nothing but a waste of precious skiing dollars and I would donate my skiis to Vinnies asap. I just couldn't seem to break away from the tried and tested groomed runs, and my middle aged timidity was infuriating! Everyone around me seemed to be elated with their tree adventures and the more elated they were, the more irate I became. I just couldn't seem to find the nerve to venture off the track.
Whether it was hormones, sheer exasperation or the patience of Jasper, I finally made it off piste on Day 5 and learnt how to fly in that delicious powder. The satisfaction was indescibable! I had finally done what I thought was impossible to me!
This year, I want to set the bar a bit higher for everything: train more knowledgably, help more where I can, push those physical and mental limits, appreciate more. This is my mission so I hope you can all put up with me - and feel free to join me, push me, correct me frequently!
Bx