HeartSkippedABeat: One More.

I have been off taking a break. I find it challenging to live in the moment for extended periods of time but I may have found the cure.

I have been visiting my favourite small mountain town. A hectic life of work and house guests and big city living in preparation for school fast approaching has been replaced by, dare I say, Utopia.

The day after I arrived (nothing provides perspective or transportation like an 8 hour highway drive) I hiked up Pulpit Rock. The equivalent of Tunnel Mountain for Banffites, The Grind for those in Vancouver or the Chief for the lucky few in Squamish, Pulpit Rock is the local gym. The hike that people do daily instead of the stair master. It was the second time I had "worked out" in about a month. Puke zone indeed. Getting to the top I began to think to myself, ok one more kilometre, one more switch back, one more step. Funny thing is that it dawned on me that this was how everyone found success. The top athletes were usually the ones who trained one more hour then the others, the great explores sailed one more day (or maybe a few) than those who narrowly missed discoveries, the best inventors tried one more time when others had given up. To get to the top all I had to do was continue to take one more step. As I continued to do to this hike daily it became almost meditative, a chance to be by myself in nature and just let my mind settle. The first day I had little energy and had to drag my self up but each day after I looked to it as something I wanted to do. I enjoyed the journey, the exercise and the time.

Each trip up the hill was followed by a dip in the lake. The really really cold lake. With no time pressing I began to just stand in the water, I never really had any intention of swimming, simply enjoying standing with my legs in the glacier fed water and my chest facing the sun. Certain days I would get in hip deep others right up to my chest and other still I would take the plunge and swim. These activities later pushed me into road biking in the afternoons. Just because I could.

Now biking along the North shore of Kootney lake is pretty spectacular. The wind whipping at you (or hopefully behind you) and the sun beating down makes for a lovely afternoon. Just avoid the goose poop splatter, truly a word of warning.

I had fallen into "Nelson time" as my parents called it. Never in a hurry. I had also given up any socially acceptable dress standards for bathing suits, bike shorts and if I was lucky, lululemon running shorts with an oversized denim shirt. Pure class. The thing is though when I just decided to take full advantage of this last week of freedom before beginning an exciting but challenging program I really feel like I am getting the most out of it. Maybe it's the spring water we are drinking right out of the side of the mountain, maybe it's our steady diet of delicious organic and mostly local food, likely it's some vitamin D over dose from all the activities in the brilliant days, perhaps it's a gluten free beer in the evenings on the deck. What ever it is if you can get your self some, slow down, enjoy the good things I say do it. In the words of the cheesy but ever true lululemon manifesto: Do It Now Do It Now Do It Now.... and then enjoy.