Who has a strong inner guideline and does not need the approval or admiration of others can stay himself in all circumstances. Nobody can find a point of attachment for harm. He never has to adapt his heart, but he can let it determine its own course, in freedom.
Learning the easy way by being prepared Here are four basic guidelines that have helped me not only to be prepared for the random stuff that can be thrown in one's way on the road of life but also some concepts and ideas to assist others needs as well. These are guidelines passed along to me from my father who has always shared with me the importance of leading a healthy active lifestyle which I feel is very important in today's techno driven gadget filled world.
1) "You can learn it the hard way or the easy way".
This is typical of someone who learns the power and value of integrity. Growing up and appreciating having an authority figure to respect whether it's at home, work or school is a gem of an experience. Ideally this lends to a compassionate mode of dealing with people in the "real world" who might need to be told those very words and perhaps even in a harsh tone is appropriate. It's not a threat or black and white thinking of right versus wrong it's more a matter of choice and natural consequence.
.
Keep this in mind as you pack your kit whether it's a ten mile bike commute to the office or a back roads adventure through several third world countries. Each scenario has potential problems and more often than not many potential disasters can be averted. For example I have a very small bottom bracket tool and crank arm puller that I take along on very long bike tours. Sure they add weight to my kit but I noticed myself taking it for granted when I needed these tools as the repair of simply tightening a bottom bracket cup that had loosened was uneventful.
We each have our own set of criteria which pertains to innumerable scenarios. Is it really alright to blow off learning the language where you're going or could it mean learning it the hard way for you? Not understanding currency exchanges, not taking a bike lock to work when you know it's more than a bit risky? You might get a block from the house without your bike lock and say to yourself "oh no I'm not going to learn the hard way" consequently going back to get your bike lock. Whatever the situation it's a good seed to have planted when needed.
1) "You can learn it the hard way or the easy way".
This is typical of someone who learns the power and value of integrity. Growing up and appreciating having an authority figure to respect whether it's at home, work or school is a gem of an experience. Ideally this lends to a compassionate mode of dealing with people in the "real world" who might need to be told those very words and perhaps even in a harsh tone is appropriate. It's not a threat or black and white thinking of right versus wrong it's more a matter of choice and natural consequence.
.
Keep this in mind as you pack your kit whether it's a ten mile bike commute to the office or a back roads adventure through several third world countries. Each scenario has potential problems and more often than not many potential disasters can be averted. For example I have a very small bottom bracket tool and crank arm puller that I take along on very long bike tours. Sure they add weight to my kit but I noticed myself taking it for granted when I needed these tools as the repair of simply tightening a bottom bracket cup that had loosened was uneventful.
We each have our own set of criteria which pertains to innumerable scenarios. Is it really alright to blow off learning the language where you're going or could it mean learning it the hard way for you? Not understanding currency exchanges, not taking a bike lock to work when you know it's more than a bit risky? You might get a block from the house without your bike lock and say to yourself "oh no I'm not going to learn the hard way" consequently going back to get your bike lock. Whatever the situation it's a good seed to have planted when needed.
One can learn a lot of one's faults, but one must have the freedom to make them. The quickest way to learn is by experience, which is a severe master, and with freedom and an open mind. Learning can be fun.
It doesn't hurt anything to walk your bike 2)"Nothing has to be perfect".
I consider one of the most disruptive "qualities" of technology is the implication that we are achieving some level of perfection. No longer having to stop at the corner gas station to ask for directions to locate an address, technology has made life so much easier in many ways than it was just ten years ago, or five years ago or even last year. Ironically, although many things seem easier there is so much more available and taking place than before that the pace of day to day living is conducted faster. With a need to keep up with various technology such as kids being issued tablets at a public high school there is an additional learning curve necessary to perform basic tasks. This extends to the parents' need to understand that same technology just to interact and understand what is being expected of kids these days. With internet marketing, google maps and the vast social media networks even small business is feeling the pinch to keep up with current technology trends. Thank goodness for so called "glitching out". Phones glitch, are actually quite fragile, drop calls, GPS directs you to the wrong location and we are reminded that no we're not perfect, technology is not perfect and more often than not it doesn't have to be to simply get the appointed task completed. Also I might add that since the techno trend also consists of more user friendly gizmos one doesn't have to possess a rocket science intelligence to make use of the opportunities that technology has to offer.
I don't use bike apps any more. Sure I tried them out, saw how quickly they drained the phone's battery and because I prefer to have my phone for making or receiving calls, getting some photos or using GPS to navigate home I preferred to make sure I had plenty of phone battery. If I were to get turned around the bike apps I tried didn't have a navigating function so I didn't see the point in using a bike app.
Arriving at a long steep climb after already having rode forty miles in fifteen to twenty five mile per hour gusting head winds I then thought "now why don't they make a fricking app for this hill?". It served as a humorous reminder that I was getting out riding long and hard, feeling good about myself and my bike I had built despite the tough conditions. Point was it didn't have to be perfect for me to enjoy my ride.
When I had my own bike shop I had a customer ask me for a very obscure sized tube. He explained he had just come from Santa Fe and the "fancy bike shop there didn't have it". I looked through some old tube boxes that had been collecting dust and when I handed it to the customer he started laughing and said "you know that fancy shop there they were putting micrometer dial calipers on their brake rotors and they were rude. I think they just need to get out and ride those bikes Then I find this tube at a funky little shop like yours". I didn't take offense and could relate to the customer's sense of humor while he reminded me that nothing has to be perfect.
I consider one of the most disruptive "qualities" of technology is the implication that we are achieving some level of perfection. No longer having to stop at the corner gas station to ask for directions to locate an address, technology has made life so much easier in many ways than it was just ten years ago, or five years ago or even last year. Ironically, although many things seem easier there is so much more available and taking place than before that the pace of day to day living is conducted faster. With a need to keep up with various technology such as kids being issued tablets at a public high school there is an additional learning curve necessary to perform basic tasks. This extends to the parents' need to understand that same technology just to interact and understand what is being expected of kids these days. With internet marketing, google maps and the vast social media networks even small business is feeling the pinch to keep up with current technology trends. Thank goodness for so called "glitching out". Phones glitch, are actually quite fragile, drop calls, GPS directs you to the wrong location and we are reminded that no we're not perfect, technology is not perfect and more often than not it doesn't have to be to simply get the appointed task completed. Also I might add that since the techno trend also consists of more user friendly gizmos one doesn't have to possess a rocket science intelligence to make use of the opportunities that technology has to offer.
I don't use bike apps any more. Sure I tried them out, saw how quickly they drained the phone's battery and because I prefer to have my phone for making or receiving calls, getting some photos or using GPS to navigate home I preferred to make sure I had plenty of phone battery. If I were to get turned around the bike apps I tried didn't have a navigating function so I didn't see the point in using a bike app.
Arriving at a long steep climb after already having rode forty miles in fifteen to twenty five mile per hour gusting head winds I then thought "now why don't they make a fricking app for this hill?". It served as a humorous reminder that I was getting out riding long and hard, feeling good about myself and my bike I had built despite the tough conditions. Point was it didn't have to be perfect for me to enjoy my ride.
When I had my own bike shop I had a customer ask me for a very obscure sized tube. He explained he had just come from Santa Fe and the "fancy bike shop there didn't have it". I looked through some old tube boxes that had been collecting dust and when I handed it to the customer he started laughing and said "you know that fancy shop there they were putting micrometer dial calipers on their brake rotors and they were rude. I think they just need to get out and ride those bikes Then I find this tube at a funky little shop like yours". I didn't take offense and could relate to the customer's sense of humor while he reminded me that nothing has to be perfect.
Perfectionism is mindset that eats at you and your happiness. Saying yes to being imperfect can turn that around.
Portland homeless person with a bike 3) "It's fair for everyone".
This is for the have's versus the have not's and not feeling the need to compare, feel victim to circumstance nor feel guilty if you are fortunate enough to find yourself living the good life. It's one of my favorites and kinda imbibes the first two.
Is it fair that your bike was stolen even though you went to great lengths to lock it up? Should you sulk in the corner and pout like a victim and say "ah crud, I guess it's fair for everyone, must have been some sorta bad karma?" Not at all, somewhere along the line that bike thief made a choice to learn something the hard way. You don't know everything, you don't have to even though the unresolved pain and anguish of having been cheated will most likely linger for awhile as it does with most folks who are prey to any sort of crime. Be proactive, get another bike, find something to build that was better than what was stolen or perhaps you will come upon some funky old relic you just have to have because it just has so much darn character. If that doesn't help then by all means see a therapist for the anger issues so that you don't hurt someone.
I have had four bikes stolen over the past few years. The last one had me that kind of furious and it was quite awhile before I began to change my perspective just enough to shake it off and move forward with my life. I may have over compensated a bit for the loss but so what I used it as inspiration to fuel some really good work. Though to be honest I kinda hope to find that bike rolling around town one of these days.
While visiting my homeless brother in Portland, Oregon I met quite a few homeless folks who were living that way by choice. Most of them had determined that it was an appropriate lifestyle choice for whatever personal reasons or unresolved reasons they might have had. Some seemed to be running from their problems and some were definitely creating more for themselves and others. Portland's Street Roots Newspaper provides homeless folks with a means for making some cash by peddling the paper on the streets. Sometimes the "it's fair for everyone" idea is all that was keeping some of those folks cheerfully moving forward with some meaningful work despite their circumstances.
This is for the have's versus the have not's and not feeling the need to compare, feel victim to circumstance nor feel guilty if you are fortunate enough to find yourself living the good life. It's one of my favorites and kinda imbibes the first two.
Is it fair that your bike was stolen even though you went to great lengths to lock it up? Should you sulk in the corner and pout like a victim and say "ah crud, I guess it's fair for everyone, must have been some sorta bad karma?" Not at all, somewhere along the line that bike thief made a choice to learn something the hard way. You don't know everything, you don't have to even though the unresolved pain and anguish of having been cheated will most likely linger for awhile as it does with most folks who are prey to any sort of crime. Be proactive, get another bike, find something to build that was better than what was stolen or perhaps you will come upon some funky old relic you just have to have because it just has so much darn character. If that doesn't help then by all means see a therapist for the anger issues so that you don't hurt someone.
I have had four bikes stolen over the past few years. The last one had me that kind of furious and it was quite awhile before I began to change my perspective just enough to shake it off and move forward with my life. I may have over compensated a bit for the loss but so what I used it as inspiration to fuel some really good work. Though to be honest I kinda hope to find that bike rolling around town one of these days.
While visiting my homeless brother in Portland, Oregon I met quite a few homeless folks who were living that way by choice. Most of them had determined that it was an appropriate lifestyle choice for whatever personal reasons or unresolved reasons they might have had. Some seemed to be running from their problems and some were definitely creating more for themselves and others. Portland's Street Roots Newspaper provides homeless folks with a means for making some cash by peddling the paper on the streets. Sometimes the "it's fair for everyone" idea is all that was keeping some of those folks cheerfully moving forward with some meaningful work despite their circumstances.
Don't demand the best place, recognition, perfection - not from others and not from yourself. Just show your value, and you will earn your rightful place. If your value is part of you, no one can take it away.
Life smiles back when your being yourself 4) "You can do whatever you want, it's who you are"
Be yourself, that's enough of a task for any of us these days. Adopting someone else's ideas of right and wrong, being duped into short changing yourself or believing you are better off because after all some other person knows better than you what's good for you. Sometimes that's true but the goal is to move past that. Bikes are a great way to explore who you are, what you want and what you don't want. If you prefer leisure cycling to challenging hard endurance rides so what. If you enjoy challenging yourself once in awhile by seeking out some tough rides that's probably what you should be doing. Besides the many health benefits that bike touring and commuting have to offer there is the personal satisfaction of setting and meeting goals that you yourself put in front of you. I stayed off of my bike for a long period of time sort of as an experiment to see how that might effect my life for better or worse. It had definitely been of no improvement whatsoever. I started to feel isolated, not in touch with the community and simply not enjoying life as much as when I did get more long hard rides in.
Bike camping is an activity I cherish as I feel recharged and refreshed after getting outdoors with nature. I enjoy the gear that my kit consists of and the quality or funky lack of quality of some of it. Doesn't matter it's still fun and I learned how much I missed riding and embracing those activities by not doing them. I didn't find anything to replace it with and that could simply be because I didn't want to. By learning what you want you find out who you are.
Be yourself, that's enough of a task for any of us these days. Adopting someone else's ideas of right and wrong, being duped into short changing yourself or believing you are better off because after all some other person knows better than you what's good for you. Sometimes that's true but the goal is to move past that. Bikes are a great way to explore who you are, what you want and what you don't want. If you prefer leisure cycling to challenging hard endurance rides so what. If you enjoy challenging yourself once in awhile by seeking out some tough rides that's probably what you should be doing. Besides the many health benefits that bike touring and commuting have to offer there is the personal satisfaction of setting and meeting goals that you yourself put in front of you. I stayed off of my bike for a long period of time sort of as an experiment to see how that might effect my life for better or worse. It had definitely been of no improvement whatsoever. I started to feel isolated, not in touch with the community and simply not enjoying life as much as when I did get more long hard rides in.
Bike camping is an activity I cherish as I feel recharged and refreshed after getting outdoors with nature. I enjoy the gear that my kit consists of and the quality or funky lack of quality of some of it. Doesn't matter it's still fun and I learned how much I missed riding and embracing those activities by not doing them. I didn't find anything to replace it with and that could simply be because I didn't want to. By learning what you want you find out who you are.
Don't bother too much about all those big things happening around you, take care of your life and needs according to your own ethics. Very often the rest will follow. Trying to answer to something else, which lies beyond your immediate understanding, will seldom bring any solution. Your own simple, direct view is often the clearest one.
RSS Feed
