After the snow storm in the East Coast area, people all around panicked to get home and stay with their loved ones. What only the lucky were able to find during the epic snow, was a reason to be closer. A reason to connect... Follow Dr. M David Kurland and his experience this week as he reaches out to a friend for a bonding adventure. In his blog, Dr. M David Kurland offers his unique perspective: a reminder that the people in your life are what matters most, and to hold that truth dear to your heart.

1. !
!
Its January. There's just been a huge snow ravaging
the entire East-Coast and Massachusetts area.
What's the first thing you'd like to do after your work
is done? Go to the phone. Here's a chance to
reunite with some good friends or to meet again with
some nearby family. Thank you Snow Storm. Dial.!
!
I do, "Friend Number one, look at the snow outside.
Do you see that?". She does, of course. I make an
invitation, "This weekend I'd like to take a trip to the
mountain and go skiing, what do you say". Her
response is not at all what I'd imagined. She says,
"Ski! All the way at the top of the mountain? I am
adventurous, Dr. Kurland, thank you for giving me
that, I just don't know if I'd be able to get back down again... You see, I've never been skiing
before in my life".!
!
I don't have to hesitate much. I'm an amicable man, or I do hope so myself. I make a counter
offer, "That isn't a problem at all. In fact it sounds fun to me. Why don't we begin by skiing
Cross-Country". "No mountain?", she says. "No mountain", I reply. In the space she thinks for a
moment. I can feel the empathy of my invitation, palpable through the phone. She feels it too.
I'm ever confident. "Ok. When do you want to pick me up?".!
!
When you live in the East-Coast, Massachusetts area, skiing is an inevitability, and likely, a
favorite pastime among most your friends. (I really should start with snow being an
inevitability...). If this is the case, most of your friends will be quite familiar with the sport. You
will, however, have at least a couple friends or relatives, venerable or youth, who have never
taken the chance to try it.!
!
This, among other reasons, makes
Cross-Country skiing a good
introduction point for a day out with the
ones you love. Skiing is valuable (yes
because its fun, but additionally)
because it can bring you together.
People will travel relatively long
distances to meet for a good ski trip.
When you have a relative or friend
who's never been, invite them to go
cross-country. If you've never been on
top of a mountain, and find the
prospect intimidating, you're not wrong.
Start where you're comfortable. It is
one of my greatest joys to introduce
friends to the sport of Cross-Country
Skiing.!
!

2. When you've lived life as long as I have, you might recognize your priorities and interests have
changed. Perhaps the sense of intimidation the mountain initially inspired in you has a basis in
reality. I have been a fan of Cross-Country Skiing since I was young, I really have. Now that I
am wiser and more experienced, I love Cross-Country Skiing even more.!
!
There's nothing like seeing the beauty of nature, gliding along on two feet and sharing that
moment, when at one glance over, your best friend or good family is right beside you. To be with
the birds, under the sun, to see the snow falling and to experience all this sensory beauty with a
loved one by your side is truly life's greatest joy.!
!
If you're looking for a place to Ski Cross-Country in the Massachusetts area, do a quick Google
search. When you find the place, adventure you think you might be looking for, give a friend a
call. Take your wife, your husband, anyone in your family, whether they have ever been skiing or
not. I promise there is no greater fun. Cross-Country Skiing is really it.