Surprises From the Dolomites

Adventures in In-Itness from the Italian Alps

Dear Beautiful Friends,

Greetings from the Dolomites where after a few days in Venice, and 24 hours in the charming Tyrolean town of Balzano we met up with our group for a six day Ski Safari.

So many thoughts and ideas buzzing through as I journey with my group all the hell over this massive metropolis of ski terrain but those will come a bit later.

Right now we just finished Day 4, and we’re at our Refugio at the top of a rock mountain which feels quite Grinchean.

This photo is from our second day, the one clear day we’ve had to really take in the bella vista.

When Kristin and I were in Venice we looked at each other while walking through a piazza to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection ❤️❤️ and said back and forth, “Can you believe we’re going to be SKIING in a few days??

It felt too far away, so alien and far-fetched. We might have groaned a bit! Both of us had skied only twice this season and the only thing that whets the appetite for skiing is skiing. And six days of skiing good god😳

We got over it pretty quickly the second our skis hit the snow—of course. As always this reminded me, again of the absolute magic of the IN-ITness of life.

Again and again life is showing us that when we’re HERE, imagining or thinking about being THERE, those feelings, especially when they’re those of resistance, dread, or WTFness, are the most crap predictors of how that activity will be experienced.

Everything changes when I’m in it, really in it, rather than standing outside the circle of the activity. I experience this so much with writing and creative projects. You too? The dread or pre-fidgeting falls away once you’re in the stream of engaging with the Thing, even if it’s hard.

⛷️💨

I could never imagine the snowy Dune-ness of this:

Or the eerie wonderland of this view from a lift on a socked in day:

Sports is often my favorite philosophical metaphor: be in the moment, breathe, lean in and love these new friends, contemplate fresh ideas about being positive in a troublesome world, surprise myself, connect with nature and be wowed by everyone and everything if even for a quick hit.

One might also enjoy the hell out of a new flowery ski top bought just for this trip.

Beauty Hunters, I have a lot of ideas for us when I get home, like putting more sunshine of the spirit into daily life and saying Yes to all the human goodness around us while we enter the tumult of an election year and possible rocky roads.

❤️Can we fall back in love with each other, all our fellow/sister humans in a new way?(OK maybe not all but more?)

🏔️Can we consider “vacations” and all forms of getaways, adventures, culture trips, and retreats as central to feeding our daily lives?

In the meantime, remember that beauty lies in the in-itness of life, how Life wants us in it as intimately and sassily as possible, warts, fears, peeves, difficulties and all.

Ciao from Cortina. Xoxo