Hi all:

I was wrong: winter is still here. Last weekend, I skinned in Quebec and it snowed each morning I was there. And this weekend, as you are well-aware, winter showed up full-force in the mountains. I was fortunate enough to nab a free ticket to Sunday River yesterday and even though bumps terrify me (writing as a skier who has blown out both knees), I skied the bumps all day (albeit slowly). There was SO MUCH POWDER, the sky was blue and the sun shone on us and it was that blessed spring skiing that every skier craves after the cold and blustery months of January and February. On the car ride from Portland to Bethel we were chatting about the devastating ice storm of 1998. Where you were then?

For the meat of this note, I want to write about intuition, trusting yourself, and speaking up for yourself. These things matter and still challenge me. I’m a confident woman and yet the other day, in a completely low-stakes situation, I stayed silent. What the heck? It’s almost too embarrassing to write about, but I imagine if this happened to me, it’s probably happened to at least one of you (in some form). I was shopping in the fish department of Hannaford, looking at all of the frozen shrimp options, feeling overwhelmed because I hardly ever cook shrimp, but needed them for a delicious-looking recipe. I asked the fish guy for his advice and he pointed me in the direction of the extra-large variety. They were massive and I thought, “they”ll be too large for the dish,” but instead of saying, “No, these are too big,” I said “Thanks” and plopped the bag into my shopping cart. That evening I cooked the meal and they were way too big, just as I thought they would be. Why the heck did I not buy the shrimp I wanted?! was it because I had asked the fish monger for help and didn’t want to offend him by going against his suggestion. That’s freaking ridiculous and yet that’s what I did. Listening to my intuition and making a choice for me, not to protect him (and what does he care anyway) would have been the saner and healthier path. These are things I practice every single day. Not being agreeable just to be agreeable and not caring for others’ comfort over my own is important (actually, vital) and listening to my internal wisdom, and nurturing that wisdom takes work. That attention to intuition can be a life-saver while adventuring outside and in other situations that aren’t as high-stakes, it simply feels better and more aligned to be true to yourself.
 

OK, that’s it. Get outside if you can, find pleasure and awe where you can, trust your intuition, and take good care of yourself.