The Snowboarder's Journal - The Snowboarder's Journal 20.4
WHERE YOU GO, THERE YOU ARE
Words: Ben Shanks Kindlon 2023-01-24 07:55:55
“It was a sunny day in March and had just snowed eight to 10 inches the night before, with strong winds. Ralph Kucharek and I hiked up to the summit of Mt. Mansfield, VT with a big crew. We decided to break off from the group to scope a line on the north side of the ridge. The day before the zone looked rocky and filled with krummholz. It was a shot in the dark, but the wind had worked its magic along with denser snow to make it rideable. Here, Ralph approaches the drop-in point.” Photo: Nathanael Asaro
You ever had a bad pow day? I don’t ask so in a rhetorical, live, laugh, love way. I mean, really. I’ll admit I have. It’s an odd guilt, feeling off when everything around you says you should be feeling on. But hey, that’s life. No matter where you go, there you are.
That’s one of those phrases my 75-year-old dad says repeatedly as if he’s dropping it for the first time. Others may say, “Wherever you go, you will find yourself.” Seemingly infinite iterations of this age-old proverb have popped up throughout time and in various cultures, from formal precursors to religious texts written in Latin in the late 1800s to English folk songs of the 2000s and plenty of places in between. The line is somewhat famously used in the 1984 science fiction film, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, a cult-classic action/adventure in which earthling Dr. Buckaroo Banzai is tasked with defeating the perilous Red Lectroids from Planet 10. Considering the overall nonsensical nature of Buckaroo Banzai, it’s the most grounding line of the entire box office flop, rightfully delivered by the doctor himself. On top of being an alien-fighting rock star, he is a neurosurgeon, after all.
Back in reality it appears in both the title and text of the book Wherever You Go, There You Are, written by professor emeritus of medicine Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1994. His take: “Guess what? When it comes right down to it, wherever you go, there you are. Whatever you wind up doing, that’s what you’ve wound up doing. Whatever you are thinking right now, that’s what’s on your mind. Whatever has happened to you, it has already happened. The important question is, how are you going to handle it? In other words, ‘Now what?’”
So, what now? It can be interpreted in any number of ways. One is letting it be an indication to stay in the present and embrace all that it throws your way, uphill climbs included. A reminder that if you’re having a bad day snowboarding, it’s probably not the mountain’s fault.
And haven’t you ever had an awesome day riding dust on crust? Or, better yet, icy blue groomers? Rolling with the conditions for what they are. Overcoming expectations or leaving them at the door in the first place. Avoiding comparisons. Stressing the positives. Going through the slough to come out on top. Living, laughing and loving in the face of everything that tells you not to. Because no matter where you go, there you are. Best to choose where that is wisely.
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