Ingrid Backstrom – leader of the ski camp I am attending – skiing in Chile

Tomorrow I am traveling internationally for the first time in five years. I am traveling internationally completely solo – not yet knowing anyone on the other end – for the first time ever.

I imagine the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other both saying to each other: what is this introvert thinking?!

But I know I am going to have an adventure. And adventures, moments of disequilibrium, and newness are what move us to learn and see the world with fresh perspectives. Adventures are what bring inspiration and challenges that we face, learn from, and write on our memory as a story to be shared.

And what or who are we – child or adult – without our stories?

I look forward to writing more of my story in the next two weeks while skiing with a group of women at La Parva Ski Center in the Chilean Andes.  I am eager to learn more about the technical skills of backcountry skiing and freeriding. I am eager to learn more about the harder-to-nail-down skills of self-awareness, confidence, solitude, and making new friends.

I recently read this article by Gregoris Kalai in the Huffington Post about disconnecting in order to connect. That is my goal this trip: to disconnect from many of the devices and things I treasure and devote my time and attention to here. NOT in order to remain disconnected, but to connect more deeply with myself and with the world around me in a new way: that I might return to those connections refreshed and the next richer version of myself.