Slopes and Dreams

Oprah Winfrey once said, “skiing is the next best thing to having wings”.  I had no idea Oprah was a skier, so I looked it up.  Not only does she ski, but she recently bought a $14,000,000 ski chalet in the Colorado mountains.  Now that’s commitment!!   I tested her theory this week on the slopes of Blue Mountain, spending Family Day skiing with my kids (well, two out of the three of them, the third joined us for the Apres Ski!).  In honour of Oprah and her thoughtful quote, I came up with a little skiing wisdom of my own.

1. Skiing is exhilarating. Getting on and off the chair lift is terrifying.
2. When skiing, it’s best not to look at the entire hill, but instead focus on the real estate right in front of you. The same is true with life.
3. Ski boots are descendants of medieval torture devices.
4. Kids are faster, smarter, and more agile than you. Get used to it.
5. Wearing an expensive, brand-name ski outfit doesn’t make you a better skier, but it does help you look good on the hill! If you can’t dazzle them with displays of daring, fool them with feats of fashion.
6. It’s a long, cold ride to the top of the mountain, so try to make friends with the person sitting next to you on the chairlift; it makes it go faster.
7. No one cares how fast you are, how confident you are, or how skilled you are, all they care are about is that you keep moving. If you stop, you become a distraction, an obstacle, or a hazard (the same is true in life).
8. Don’t let the names of the slopes fool you. “Tranquillity” is not tranquil, and the “Enchanted Forest” contains little that enchants. If I were in charge of naming ski hills, I would name them “Do You Have Life Insurance?” and “Good Luck, You’re Gonna Need It”
9. There are fewer pleasures greater than getting to the bottom of a hill in one piece and then lining up to do it all over again.
10. There are always going to be mountains in life. You can’t go over them.  You can’t go under them.  You can’t go through them.  So, you may as well strap on a pair of skis and go down them.

It was a great two days.  As I was putting on my skis for the first run, I turned to my son Jack and said, “I’m kind of nervous”.  He said, “why are you nervous, it’s supposed to be fun?”  Good point.  As I got off the chairlift and looked down the hill to the bottom which seemed impossibly far away, I said to myself, “remember, it’s supposed to be fun”.   And it was.  Maybe I’ll make that my mantra every morning.