The Refuge of Skiing

The Refuge of Skiing
Kate Ratliff

To slow down
Last run of the day
I ponder
What have I thought of today
Not much
I give my self permission
To think of nothing
A cleansing of the mind
Only to feel the wholeness
Of the body
To be in quiet and quiet
I become part of the mountain
It's quietness is inside of me
It is meditation
Not found anywhere else
Difficult to put into words
It is beyond words
Beyond thought

Going down the mountain
I briefly become
conscious of the non thought
Which then becomes a thought
Observing for a moment
and returning to non thought
Like peeking inside the mind
Only for a moment
And returning to the peace
Of the whole body
Of non thought
Stepping back outside
Closing the door to thinking
And only conscious of
where my ski
will lead me next

Getting out of the mind
into the heart to who we are
Skiing can be related to creating
Music and the arts
The process
Not expecting what is created
Instead enjoying the moment of creating
The moment
of being on the mountain
The only product
at the end of a ski day
Is a tired and cleansed body

A "refuge" is
"Anything that one
has recourse for relief"
A place of shelter
from danger
Skiing is
this thing and place
To cleanse the mind
And give relief
from too much thought
Relief from the stress
of a worried and busy life
The refuge of skiing