The perception of time is an experience that is rooted in our psychological reality. Time is not only a factor in how we organize our skiing; it is also a factor in how we experience it. As we establish our skiing in terms of time, we perceive that ‘losing’ time implies losing skiing time.
Time, as such, is an interpretation of our minds that is restricted to perceiving everything in a unidirectional manner. Like space, time is unique and when we talk about ‘different’ times, we are referring to parts of one time. Therefore, time is a perception, not a concept.
Why is time considered a subjective experience? Because we have a different perception of time. When we encounter situations of happiness or distress, we perceive that time passes more rapidly or slower than in conventional circumstances. In this state of temporal distortion, we are presented with the illusion of the speed of time.
When we indulge in skiing, time seems to swiftly pass, however, when we wait in the lift line, time seems to linger, similar to the feeling of apprehension when descending a slope perceived as threatening.
The length of a lesson seems to ‘drag on‘ for the beginner who is not entirely convinced of learning to ski. When the rest of the learners are preparing to descend and are being observed by the instructor, they may experience the waiting time more slowly.
Likewise, for the height-phobic skier who goes up a chairlift for the first time, time will ‘lengthen‘, but will likely ‘shorten‘ as the end of the mountain vacation approaches. The skier who leaps off a ridge perceives time differently than the one who waits to finally arrive at the ski resort. When the fearful beginner experiences the expansion of time on his first slide on the snow, he immediately resorts to his ability to slow
