I think there’s some reason to everything we experience.

There was a reason I was outside this morning. There was a reason I looked to the West. A bird flying, gliding, soaring. It was quiet, the air fresh smooth budder to shred upon. The bird flew without effort, it was a zen moment, as I watched the bird fly onward.

It reminded me of snowboarding on fresh powder, freshly dumped snow. I mean, feet of fresh snow, on tracks that haven’t had anyone else on them. Virgin powder, so to speak.

The feeling was also zen. I didn’t feel the ground, it was if I were hovering above the ground on the snow. I felt, well, kind of like I was gliding, soaring, flying.

If you ever reach the summit runs of any given mountain, you’ll experience nirvana. The air so spare, the sun so friggin bright, and all you see is blue sky. That, my friends, was an experience you should give a try if you haven’t. Of course, it takes money to do that. I was able to because I was sponsored by my family- here, all expenses paid. I’m grateful for that opportunity, for it was an amazing gift to go out to visit my friend and his family in Colorado, and hit the slopes that specific Saturday back in 2009.

I mention this because I want to apply that zen to my every day life. To manifest that feeling of gliding, soaring, just flying. Nothing worth while in this life is easy, so I doubt this state of mind will happen overnight. But to work towards that state of mind, as much as possible, surely is a good thing.

For example, if I read a book, I intent to fully immerse my mind into that story. If I go out for a drive, I immerse myself in the road, the pedestrians, the nature, the man made structures. If the sky is grey, I focus on how the Vikings lived. And how they made weathered many grey sky days.

Figuring life out by myself mine as well be exciting. No one gives feedback, or if they do, it’s few and far in-between. I can’t change that. I can’t force people to engage with what I write. All I can do is write. And read stories to help with my own writing. The more prose I take in, the better I can develop my prose. I think that’s kind of the point of reading a lot, at least for me. How are sentences structured, the flow and syntax. The rhythm and flow.

Well, now I hope people will read this. Otherwise, it’s not as much fun as it could be.

Philip Webb