Yesterday afternoon the sun was out and the temperature was warm. My motorcycle was calling to me. I decided I needed a mental health ride to just purge my mind of all the busy thoughts and emotional pressures.
The law of attraction has been bringing me interesting philosophical and psychological articles about thinking, thoughts and emotions. It’s kind of a chicken or egg dilemma. As it turns out thinking is an active engagement of processing perception in real time while thoughts are the product of thinking. Thinking lives in the now and thoughts live in the past or future as we perseverate about purpose and direction in life. Emotions fit in here somewhere too. It is argued that emotions precede thoughts and there are arguments that emotions are the end results of thoughts. Either way, one can think themself into a bad mood by dwelling on negative experiences in the past or by worrying too much about the future.
Thicht Naht Hahn describes the concept of mind and body and asks the question of whether or not the two have drifted too far apart. Thoughts that lead us to the past or future remove us from our physical body and he advises us to focus instead on the simple act of breathing and being present in the now.
Motorcycle riding does this for me. I am actively engaged in my physical perception of my balance, the traction of the road, the lean angle, etc. I don’t have time to think about work and if I do I risk crashing due to the distraction.
I met my friends Shane and Ron and we set out for a ride. It is amazing how quickly the landscape can change. On Sunday it was foggy and I was concerned about ice on the road. Today, it was sunny and I was concerned about mud and gravel in tight corners. I rode slower on Sunday because my vision was impaired and I rode faster in the sunlight but still felt the same since of urgency to pay precise attention to what I was doing.
As I let Shane and Ron ride ahead of me I thought about how dangerous it is to feel urgency to catch up. Each of us has to ride our own ride based upon our own mindfulness. A stop sign offers the chance to regroup together and all is right in the world.
There inevitably is a moment when someone needs to stop to relieve themselves. That also gives me a chance to catch up and make a photograph. We stopped at a spot overlooking the Spokane River as it approaches Lake Roosevelt. Unfortunately my camera battery was dead and I didn’t bring my usual sling bag full of spares. I had to revert to a cell phone photo. Oh well. It’s just a quick sketch of a memory.
Yesterday’s ride also brought a different sort of adventure. As I now develop my thoughts about the ride I am aware of how valleys reside in between mountains. We headed up highway 25 to Hunters along one valley floor but then as we sought a return route that would be a loop we headed 30 miles to highway 231 at Springdale. Those 30 miles took us up and over a mountain pass where the snow was piled against the side of the road and the traction was tricky due to slick wet spots and lots and lots of sand and gravel.
A dirt road is easier to ride on than a combination of pavement and dirt. Gravel on a dirt road compacts naturally as opposed to the way rocks and sand become like trying to walk across a field of marbles.
I think what I like most is that each ride has it’s own challenges that keep me focused in the present. It is a nice break from too many thoughts and emotions.
Upon our return we grilled some steaks and sat by a campfire and listened to hundreds of geese circling above. The stars came out and I was once more reminded of how supremely beautiful the universe is.
