i bet you expect this piece to be well written.   yet, there will be some typos and maybe a misspelling.  perhaps this will annoy you.  after all – i should know better.

you’re right.  i should.

students come to my yoga class.  the very least i can do is count the breaths, call the sides, and don’t forget the finishing series.  i am the teacher, you know.

writing and teaching are not new to me.  sure, elements are and will continue to be, but i’m supposed to be experienced enough not to fck up too badly.

but this week, i took a pass on being all knowing.  i got a “get-out-of-that-jail-free” card as i left the land of smug and secure – and entered a world all awkward and messy … gawky and clumsy.

because for the first time in my life, i put on a pair of skis and wreaked havoc played on the snowy slopes of west virginia. 

so refreshing to become a total newbie.  one utterly off the hook for accomplishing anything other than trying.  and then trying some more.

when we are young, it’s our constant way of being.  in fact, all the good things we have come to in this life thus far, we have had to begin.  at some point.

some might say being a beginner is a necessary evil.  watch a toddler learn to walk and you’ll be watching a toddler learning to fall more often than not … at least, to start.

and certainly the most feared vehicle on the road is not mr. blue … it’s the car emblazoned with the words: student driver.

because they’re gonna mess up.  it’s not only accepted – it’s expected.

oh, but to have the freedom to fall and the permission to fail!  a total judgment free zone.   sure, it’s a little terrifying.  but a whole lot exciting and fun. 

i had my moment, flat on my back, my skis stuck and twisted in snow.  and for those brief minutes, i was filled with self pity.  frustrated with my piss poor attempts to gain an upright position. 

just then, a woman suffered a fate similar to my own.  to which she snapped off those skis, stood up, let a few expletives go, and announced to her husband that he could find her at fourbucks because she simply could. not. do. it.  too old.  too hard.

what??!!  i wanted to call out - don't give up!! because you and me - WE don’t have to do. it.  no one expects us to do IT or anything (well).  WE are beginners! 

but i was too late.  presumably, she spent her afternoon, drowning her disappointment in overpriced lattes.

me?  i would finally figure out how to line up my skis parallel and use gravity to get myself back up.  to ski more.  fall less.  and enjoy it all.

until, by the end of the day my husband felt confident enough in my new skills to invite me on to the more advanced slopes. 

to which i reminded him, not so fast, my love.  i want to enjoy being a beginner just a little while longer!

make 2011 earn it’s title:   new.

greet this new year by becoming the beginner.  at something.  anything.  revel in the chance to flounder and use this opportunity to be completely inept. 

start a new hobby (drew), try out meditation (justina), begin a blog (david) or a marriage (donna ) dive into an ashtanga practice (sean), take up surfing (becca), take a tumble down some snowy mountain slopes (melody) - or just take your first rocket class (sandy)!

leave perfection to the pros and relax ... because as a beginner, you are perfect just where you are.