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What is your perfect day? For me the perfect day begins when the constant drone of daily life is overtaken by an acute focus of the job at hand. Thoughts and ideas in my working memory begin to line up as the door to my prefontal cortex narrows and allows for singular chunks of information only. Muscle reaction throughout my body falls into a steady rhythm, a lumbering clock filled with escapements all working in mechanical unison to propel this pack-laden skier as he skins up the creek bed.
My thoughts are linear but still stream from the environment, looking around to admire the beauty and the danger all at the same time. Somewhere in a back room in my mind there is the chorus from a song playing over and over. The song is "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys and although it is just a repeating fraction of the track, it's not the worst "Ear-Worm" I've ever had. Inhale, thought, [....ahhh, can't stand it], exhale, thought, [...I know ya planned it...], inhale, thought, [...I'm gonna set it straight...], exhale, thought, [...this watergate...], inhale.... - the process continues and reruns while my body tries to keep up with the O2 and blood sugar pig that my brain has happily become. My body has become the autonomous machine moving independently as long as the brain gets to chill in its didactic state.
You see this is the deal between my brain and my body. When I am in the mountains and taxing myself with high output activities like hiking or skiing with a large pack, I get to enjoy the experience in it's purest form. I don't have the circulatory budget to think about anything more than what is happening around me and a short buffer of what lies ahead. There is no where else I need to be right now and any stress or issues I had will have to wait until I get back (that is if they decided to even wait for me while I was gone). This purity is one of the most compelling reasons why I continue to play and work in the Rockies. Moving out here in the mountains, pushing myself and taking a few risks is one of the most efficient forms of personal growth and healing for me. And as much as it sounds like work or masochistic behaviour, Anyone who has been here will tell you that this is, "the perfect day".
