Weather

Sometimes, out of suffering comes the greatest reward. This is not to say that one should just suffer or look to suffer in life's situations, but when a healthy, life-giving opportunity arises and the only thing holding one back is the "suffering" aspect, I think a person should just bite the bullet. The hardest part about certain ideas or starting certain projects is often the lack of comprehension on how to "set sail". I hate feeling dead in the water without wind, or even a paddle (e.g., inspiration or drive).

Rousing myself to ride my bicycle to work is not that hard these days; I have done it for so long (and I need money from work), so I just sort of do it. Some days, however, a wave of tiredness looms over my head like a heavy blanket. I have noticed that even though I am so familiar with what to do and how to do it when it comes to commuting, I just "don't want to do it". The newness and initial excitement of exploring a new path has lost its flare.

During times of lameness, I have to humbly slow my pedal strokes and start back at where I was when I was a child, with the wonder and excitement of getting that first bicycle. Back then, moving forward was an accomplishment. Feeling the breeze like never before, watching the simple machine work; living in the moment before I complicate it too much with things like "want", or "speed".

So, here are some simple pleasures I let soak in on a daily basis:



This little offshoot trail is one of my all time favorites. It's short, only slightly windy, and not at all aggressive in terms of "mountain biking", but the tunnel-like tree cover reminds me a little of riding in Western Pennsylvania...beautiful.



I have said this before now, but I LOVE the fog in the morning in Sacramento. This is so worth suffering through the tiredness at 5:30am and sub-forty temperatures (I know, not that bad, but for Sacramentens, it feels terrible!)



Take fog, add sunrise to slowly burn off fog, and you have a recipe for a promising sunrise.



And here are some more deer.