New adventure this morning...I decided to ride my bike to seek out a location for caffeine and contemplation. It seemed like a great idea at the time. Actually, in the long run, if I keep at it, it will become a great idea...right now it's just a bit more work than I had intended. Most know that we are now on month 5 of our journey into living without car ownership. For the most part, it has been a great life adjustment. Mostly it means more miles on my running shoes and more miles on the Metro. Now that we finally hit summer, it's more miles on our bikes. You could say that we are reframing our lives somewhat. It demands more intention. It demands more creativity. It really demands more effort.
Last night it seemed to be a great idea to take a ride for my time away this morning. This morning, my legs were indicating that I should rethink the plan. And...I'm embarrassed to admit, this was on a relatively flat ride over. It was one of those routes that you drive on hundreds of times, never realizing that it was a hill at all...until you need to pedal up it. Considering that I live on a peninsula that is basically a hill rising out of Puget Sound, I have little room to complain. I know that one day, after intentional effort and an undetermined number of rides over these roads, i will Be better off for it. However, i can tell you, that day is not today. I'm not complaining, my legs are. But after some caffiene and coffee cake, they have learned to relax a bit. Reframing your life is difficult...and I'll admit that I have relatively little to adjust in comparison to many that I encounter.
My own meager attempts have helped me realize how hopelessly far from balanced many people are and how incredibly high the mountain must appear to those who need to climb it. Some minor health issues have caused me to consider the real need to reframe my life. What about those who have long passed minor? What must their hills look like? It's my opinion that many of us can't even really point to the moment when our lives came out of alignment. Some have obvious traumatic events that push us one way or another, but for most of us, it happens more gradually. It's like a car. Sometimes you hit the big pothole that can alter the very structural integrity. Most times, it is the accumulation, over time, of bumps and jolts. One day you wake up and realize that no matter how hard you try to center it, the car is always pulling one way or the other.
If you are not good at the preventative maintenance stuff, inevitably you'll find yourself in the shop, with a decent portion of your livelihood going towards a realignment.
One observation from all of the above. The preventative stuff needs to be intentional, it needs to be scheduled, it can be inconvenient...but ultimately you will be better off for it.
Comments