Take time to smell the roses... or Pine trees!

I've often heard the old cliché - take time to smell the roses and shrugged it off as I pressed on; working long hours to get ahead in my job and barely allowing myself time to breathe. And yet as cliché as that phrase is, I found it increasingly important, as I've grown older.
We live in a country that encourages that attitude of go-go-go and sometimes we forget that life is far too short to not appreciate all that it has to offer. While this isn't a new concept to me, I go a special reminder today while on the last of a three-day vacation. Like every other day in the winter when I'm not working, I was at Sunday River and while it was less crowded than a weekend, there were still quite a few folks on the mountain taking advantage of the wonderful early season ski conditions, but then as the day grew older and the early winter shadows crept over the mountains, people headed for the lodge the bar, or perhaps made their way back from whence they came. My feet and knees aching from full few days on the mountain, I too, was inclined to head back to the condo for a nap before my girlfriend arrived, having not been as fortunate to have had the same days off from work. When I noticed the line empty at the chairlift, I decided to take one more run; not because I really needed the exercise or was even sure my body could take it, but I was drawn my the allure of the emptiness that surrounded me in all directions. And as the chairlift swiftly whisked me up the mountain, I turned off my iPod, lifted my goggles from my face, and took in a deep breath. I was overcome with a feeling of calm and relaxation that is sometimes forgotten when I'm in the real world of work. As the chair rose over the peak, a beam of the falling sun caught my eye and while I've never been one for clichés, I had my chance to smell the roses.