I woke up at 3am. I was so wired and ready to go. I rolled off at 4:35am after a bowl of instant noodles. I made it to Heavenly parking lot at 9am and did not leave the slopes until 4:20pm. California side of runs were ice and slush where as Nevada side had powder to ride on. During one of the earlier runs on the California side I had to sit in the middle of the slope because I was tired. I avoided the sides because riders tend to do jumps off the sides. I figured center is visible and people can avoid me. A guy yelled at me to move to the side instead.
At Nevada side, I felt so good riding off a slope all alone, quiet no traffic. I picked the right side edge of the run to ride on. Suddenly a guy on his ski came right behind fast and was parallel to me. He looses control and falls, I was glad to have dodged him and his fall. I slowed down and turned around to ask if he was okay. He held his arms out signaling I caused his crash fall and I kept riding on. I felt scared form that violent anger and confused too. There was no one else, just us on this wide open beautifully groom slope.
I decided to sit by the side to process this and recover from the incident. The guy passes by later and yells at me again. He claims I cut him off. I yell back in my defense, “You came up from behind, you are suppose to watch out for people ahead of you!” He goes on yelling, “Go back to bunny slope!” His friend rides by gesturing with his hands to ignore his raging lunatic friend.
I finished my run bummed and thinking, “I can’t seem to escape drama!” I then wondered if I should just quit snowboarding and Heavenly all together. I think too much sometimes. My sunshine day turned so gloomy, I sure was bummed. I then found myself freaking out and looking backwards as I head down the slopes, totally dangerous, got to look forward and watch where I am going.
I stopped and asked myself, “What is this person teaching me? Am I just like him going around looking for trouble just to blame someone else for what misery I have created for myself?”
I then felt sorry for the ski guy. He must have failed in his relationships with this kind of logic, habit, and spirit. I felt even more sorry for him for being on this beautiful mountain and not having a good time. How is that even possible?
Then I thought about violence is contagious and I better not catch it. My riding mantra became, “Let it go, swo pwo he”. I recited Guan Yin Bodhisattva’s name to calm down and enjoyed a piece of chocolate.
On my way back to the California side, I came across 3 teenagers who only spoke Spanish. They did not have snow gear on. One of them was wearing jeans, other a rain pants, all were on cotton hoodie. They asked if I could show them how to not fall so much and turn. I had so much fun watching them try and enjoy each fall every other second and laughing through it all. Just like that the sunshine within returned.
When I made it back to California side, I took Maggie’s and came across a flat spot, not good for snowboarders. A young man slung me forward to propel me. I in turn try to slung him without much progress due to lack of arm muscle strength. So when I got to a section where I was so stuck I had to unbuckle my brace, I pushed him to propel him forward. It was so much fun, I felt like I was in third grade all over again. Just like that the sunshine within brightened even more.
What else did I learn on the snowy slopes today? The rhythm I enjoy is peace, happy, fun, joy, learning, discovery, play. I learned that on my path, I will come across people sometimes and it is about setting them straight if they asked for it like the skier. Sometimes it is helping and teaching others like the 3 teenagers this afternoon on the snowboarding turns. Sometimes it's to receive help from others and return it like the guy who slung me forward. I can’t live life looking back, behind, past. As for service, there is opportunities everywhere.
My face looked purple, grey, with black spots, I think it was due to getting blasted from that one skier. My whole face is on fire. I felt so exhausted. I drove to Safeway and somehow spent $18. on dinner, I might as well have gone out to eat somewhere with a nice view and not even have to do dishes.
