Lessons From the Mountain — Lesson Two

Some experiences command my full attention and presence. Skiing is one of those. I want more moments in life when I am only doing what I am doing.

Like many women, I am pretty good at multi-tasking. I guess it started in earnest while taking seminary classes with a baby on one arm. No one has ever accused me of having laser-beam focus, but I learned some years ago to get several things done at once. I usually felt productive, but I also got in the habit of bouncing around to whatever passed through my mind— to whatever shiny or shadowy things that called out.

I only skied six days that first season I took up skiing, and yet there were some amazing flashes of presence on the mountain at Wolf Creek. Instances when mind, body, and spirit were fully awake and fully present. In those moments it was impossible to replay the past or worry about what might happen tomorrow. With every breath— I was there, I was then. It was meditation in motion, and I loved it! Sure, standing in the lines and riding up the lift, I consistently wondered if I would fall getting off ( it only happened once). But once I started down the slopes in earnest, I found myself miraculously slipping into moments where there was nothing on my mind but exactly what I was doing.

For Christmas, we gave my four-year-old granddaughter a book about a monkey who asks a panda why he is so happy and peaceful all the time. The panda tells the monkey the things he does, and the monkey says that he does the same things… but he is not happy. So the panda asks him what he is thinking about when he does those things. “Well—” the monkey says, “When I walk, I also think about doing chores. When I do chores, I also think about reading. When I read, I also think about eating. When I eat, I also think about playing. When I play, I also think about resting. When I rest, I also think about walking.”

I want more flashes when I am only doing what I am doing. Yoga practice helps. Centering prayer helps. In its own crazy and infrequent way, snow skiing is another pathway to those rare and transformative instances when being present is everything. That is why I want to keep learning to ski. Living in the present moment is a miracle that heals and transforms.

Question for pondering:
What are your best ways of practicing full attention and presence?

Walking with you, Vicki