The Best Winter Ever
Looking back at last three months I can say that I’ve never had such a great winter time experience before – active, pleasant and exciting. Usually by the end of February I felt weak and lacked vital energy. Every new spring I used to find myself in a very low physical and emotional state - three months of inactivity would left substantial mark on my condition. This winter, however, was very different. And there are several reasons for that.
The main reason, I think, is that I’ve finally become aware of the fact that the life is passing and there is no time to be wasted. I started to think of ways how to fill my days with interesting and useful activities to avoid living in a standard “work-home-work-home” mode.
I’ve discovered two things that sustain good physical state in wintertime – swimming and snowboarding. The former had become my obsession more than a year ago, but only now do I realize the full potential of doing it regularly. The time spent in water swimming effortlessly is the most peaceful and calming. It is also the best time to organize thoughts, let alone significant physical boost it brings.
As for snowboarding, it’s very different. It gives more of an extreme kind of experience. But not only that is the reason why it’s so exciting. Personally I love the whole subculture of snowboarders – all those teenagers and youth in loose motley pants and jackets wandering around. There is something enchanting about it. You should try riding trolleybus #40 from Protasiv Iar in Kyiv at about 10pm in wintertime to see what I mean.
The other important reason to feel great lies on the emotional and intellectual side. During winter I haven’t betrayed any of my good habits (I’m still vegetarian, I still read only in languages that I’m learning, and I still don’t watch TV). Moreover I’ve developed some cool new habits inspired mostly by Leo Babauta – every day I dedicate some time to my goals. I also have read several great books (“One Hundred Years of Solitude”) and watched wonderful movies (Pedro Almodóvar’s works in Spanish language).
The main idea that overflows me now is that life has plenty to offer, we just shouldn’t be lazy to see and truly enjoy it!