Zermat is a magical place. There wasn’t a lot of new snow so we had to stay on piste. Off piste would have required a guide anyway. We skied both the Swiss and the Italian side of the Matterhorn. It takes an entire day to circumnavigate the mountain.
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I remember two, maybe three winters ago, I was driving from Salt Lake City to Phoenix, I had my traveling companion Mr. Tux the cat with me. We were somewhere south of Page Arizona. I decided to spend the night in a teepee on the Navajo Reservation. All was well until about 2 A.M. I woke up and realized that my furry companion was no longer by my side. I crawled out of my sleeping bag and put on my down coat. Did I forget to mention it was December in the high desert and the temperature outside was in the mid-teens? I found my flashlight and went hunting for my cat. I was distraught. My mind was filled with any number of bad outcomes that might have befallen my buddy. What in the world would make him want to leave a warm teepee in the middle of nowhere and wander about in an unknown wilderness? I kept asking myself that, as I navigated larger and larger circles around the teepee, shining my flashlight and calling his name.
I walked around the teepee in ever larger circles for about twenty minutes before I stumbled upon my boy. Of course there is no way of knowing… but I think he was glad I found him. I picked him up and carried him back to the teepee with me. I’m going to assume he was happy I found him because he made no more attempts that night to exit the confines of our (somewhat) comfortable encampment.
That is the night I realized that I loved my cat more than I had imagined. I still do. I have no plan to spend the night in a teepee any time soon, but if I do, and if Mr. Tux is with me, I will be keeping a very close eye on him.
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“A Bike Odyssey from Alaska to Argentina”
Having done a couple of tours myself, I was interested in reading this book to see if our experiences were similar. To put it simply, the answer is yes.
The book has its faults when compared to other Travelogues, It can’t hold a candle to “Shantaram.” That’s not a problem. Kristen is not a writer by trade but still did a marvelous job telling her story.
My favorite lines from the book were these. They really resonated with me.
“Life on a bicycle, free from the constraints of our former lives, made the world feel both bigger and smaller. When we had been riding the Dalton Highway, a single mile had sometimes felt insurmountable, and now after two months we had completed almost 3,000 of them. At the start of the ride, a day in the seat felt like an eternity. I don’t remember the moment I stopped counting the miles, but I know I noticed them less. My internal voice had been silenced. I was able to still my mind. Thoughts would come and go as I passed through ever-changing landscapes. I felt more peaceful, quiet, and calm. The chaos that had existed in my life before the ride felt far away.”
The question that everyone faces after completing an epic journey is how to hang on to the experience once you’ve returned to everyday life. How do you retain the hard earned state of mind won during the long days and nights of the journey. Holding on to some of that serenity is the point of the journey. If you can do that, you will have made yourself a better person.
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Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow! What a ride!”
I’ve crossed the country twice on a bicycle and I plan to do it again. I’m skiing better now at age 71 than I have ever skied in my life. That’s living. Of course I won’t be able to ride 3,000 miles on a bike or rip a black diamond forever. But I will continue doing both to the best of my ability until I fall down and can’t get up.
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In addition to honoring each day with a prayer to the Creator, I have also written a prayer to honor the mountains. After all, the Creator is responsible for the mountains and the blessings they bestow on us…
A Skier’s Prayer”
I acknowledge the Creator and give thanks for the opportunity to ski another powder day. It is my intention to honor this day on the mountain by presenting as much of my skis to the snow as possible. I will strive to present my skis to the mountain through all three phases of my turns. I will honor this day by remaining in an athletic stance. I will show respect to the mountain by always looking ahead. This will allow me to choose the path the mountain wants me to take.
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One of my intentions for 2025 is to take time each morning to welcome the new day. In Hindi, the 48 minute period before sunrise is a “Muhtra.” Brahama Muhtra literally means “The Creator’s Time.” This is when the world as we know it was created. This is the best time of day to honor the Creator and to receive knowledge. Meditation, reading, writing, creating a plan for the day, reflecting, and remembering your parents and the Creator are the best ways to honor the new day. My intention is to start each day with a prayer that I wrote. This prayer honors the Creator and provides me with inspiration and guidance for the day ahead.
Brahama Muhtra
I acknowledge the Creator and give thanks for the opportunity to greet another day.
It is my intention to honor this day by presenting my best self to the world.
It is my goal for today to be kind to everyone I meet. I will look for the best in everyone and treat everyone I meet with kindness and respect.
I will share a smile whenever I can because I believe a smile has the power to make lives better.
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It’s the start of a new year. I can’t recall feeling more excited about the year ahead than I do now. Invigorated is a good description. Who would have thought that at age 71, one could look back on their life with some pride and also look forward with an expectation that even greater things are in store, but that is how I feel. Another wonderful thing about this year is I feel I have some powerful intentions that are not only worthwhile but are attainable. I’m excited about putting in the work to get there. All of this while we are facing a trying time as a nation.
America is changing before our eyes. Sometimes it feels like no one is aware of what is going on. Democracy is dying and is being replace with rule by the rich. Whatever benefits the wealthy is the new political policy. The irony is that this change was made possible by the people that will benefit the least from this transformation. I’m not going to dwell too much on this reality going forward for two reasons. The first is there is nothing I can do about it in the short term. The second is because we will come out of this, it will take time, maybe even more time than I have left, but we will come out of this.
Perhaps that is the reason I feel optimistic about my own future. This national crisis has given me the freedom to focus on myself. My future is up to me and no one else.
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