commentary

Something to live for

We live when we have something to live for.

Time and again, when you hear from a survivor, what you hear is “I thought of my son, daughter, wife, husband, parents…” We would think that survival would be a very selfish process, but it’s not. It’s much more about how embedded in a family or a community we are. Seemingly, we cannot save ourselves. Survival, even salvation, lies in our love for our family and community. Survivors literally use the power of love to survive. People who care about others have a better chance of surviving. At the moment of truth, if we are thinking only about ourselves, we are at a disadvantage.

How do we get ourselves into trouble? Simply wanting to do something can often overwhelm all other considerations. We know we shouldn’t, but we want to. So we tell ourselves a story. Our story is built on truth. We turn experience into stories. They feel real and truthful to us. When the story reflects the world as it really is, we do well. When they don’t, we find ourselves in trouble. Want something badly enough and the story will only have the thinnest veneer of truth. It’s a false story. And it leads to the commonly used phrase “What were they thinking?”

To use a recent example what was disgraced former Govenor Eliot Spitzer thinking? What story did he tell himself that made these actions OK?

And how many times did I hear someone say “What was he thinking?” in regard to Spitzer’s actions? Too many to count.

People swim in shark infested waters and get hurt…”What were they thinking?”
People climb mountains when storms are approaching… “What were they thinking?”
People get drunk, attempt to drive home and kill themselves and others… “What were they thinking?”

You’d never let anyone hurt you as badly as you hurt yourself.

Logic and reason can inform us but emotion makes us decide and act. And wanting is an emotional thing. Without the aid of the stories we create and the emotions they generate, we are all but paralyzed. Stories hurt us when they reflect only our desires. Stories help us by making other’s experiences real and prevent us from having to experience every situation for ourselves. They warn us of things so we don’t have to survive them ourselves. But for the latter to occur you need to be embedded in a family or a community, to trust other’s experience. And as we know, people who do trust, who feel that connection, who don’t only think of themselves survive even the the most dangerous, stress filled, gasping for breath, I-almost-lost-my-life moments. Such is the power of love.

It’s love people, love.

Today a lot of people are aware of race issues because it’s the 40th anniversary of the assasination of Martin Luther King, Jr. But one of the things that I don’t think is being remembered as much(I was 4 at the time so have no memory of the event) is that one of the things he preached was love.

I’ve often used the golden rule as a means of gauging my own behavior. Sure, treat others as you wish to be treated goes a long, long way. And there’s no doubt, it’s a personal work in progress. Still, if more people practiced the ethics of reciprocity routinely the world would be a nicer place. But on this day, when people are already discussing the measure of the King Dream, I’m asking that you love others as you wish to be loved.

It’s harder, it requires more thought and greater commitment. You have to reach deeper and do more, you have to not just say, “hmmm how would I want to be treated” but what would I truly wish for myself and how can I extend that to everyone else.

And if we extend that to more of what we do, our interactions with others, a ever deepening desire to seek that level of love for all people, the world will in fact be better place, and where without further effort, people will be judged by the content of their character.

Go Easy…

Go Easy…: 3.  To the family in the silver Camry: it’s not cool, nor funny, to drive beside me and my daughter-matching our speed-for 6 blocks while you and your wife snap cell phone pics and point at us.

4.   To the two police officers who turned on your lights and siren, and then pulled over the car that was going thru the intersection of Grand Ave. & 36th St. at 4mph while they pointed at Chloe & me and took photos, Thank You. [Heh.]
Source: Large Fella on a Bike

On Potato Omelets and Winter Cycling

On Potato Omelets and Winter Cycling: What these actions of mine and others lead me to conclude is that culture matters. I’m not shirking the fact of my own laziness; it’s a real observation about how the world works. If my friends and family members were riding off to work in the cold, I likely would to, without complaint. But alone, when few other people are, it’s easy to decline the invitation my bicycle offers me, or not even see it.

As we head into spring and the warmer months, this point will become moot. I’m sure I will once again start riding regularly. But maybe next winter, or the one after, I may make different choices. Cycling as transportation is increasingly popular in New York, and as this popularity grows, I suspect we will reach a tipping point, to use Malcom Gladwell’s famous phrase. I look forward to a future, perhaps not so long away, when even the fairest-weather riders like me venture out in even the worst of weather, doing so as easily as taking a bite of an easily-made potato omelet. [So yesterday I joined the bike commuter ranks. In my case it is a “multi-mode” affair, because I’d spend way too much time commuting the 36 or so miles form home to work entirely by bike. I biked in my “street” clothes adding only a bike helmet and a bit of cover for my head (it’s still a bit cold in the mornings for me). Nothing more seemed necessary, even though I do not have a “commuter” bike per se.

And the cultural stuff starts at home. My wife is trying very hard to be supportive, but would really rather not think about my riding in the City. Of course, there’s no way to make it clear that riding the route I do is actually safer feeling than a lot of the riding I do in the suburbs because I’m not mixed with car traffic as much. The west side greenway provides a good chunk of the trip.

Naturally, today rain is expected this afternoon, and while it wouldn’t stop me from a biking in the rain standpoint, the bike does have to survive the rest of the trip on top of the car in the rain. Not so much goodly as they say.

Which brings me to my point. The multi-mode, or park and ride, or plane, train, and automobile, or whatever combo of your choice infrastructure is very, poor, both public and private. It needs some attention if people are serious about changing how they commute. It’s easy to say I will do something, and far more difficult to just do it when the facilities aren’t there to enable it. I’d love to lengthen the bike portion of commute, but I need to find parking in NJ that makes sense. And more parking in NY that makes sense. And if the trains allowed bikes (or there was secure, out of the weather bike parking) I would have more choices.

One can argue about where I live, choices, etc. all one wants, but I live where I live and do what I do, and just trying to make the best decisions I can for a healthier life, commute, world etc.]

Deep Survival: Brain Vs. Gadget

Deep Survival: Brain Vs. Gadget: You were rehearsing in your mind what you were going to do. You were creating what I call a mental model of your expected world and a behavioral script for what you were going to do in it. I would imagine that you unconsciously had all your moves planned before you ever got on the mountain, including the joy of reaching the summit. This is good. This is how dreams become reality. But these mental models and behavioral scripts can set traps for us and must always be viewed with caution. [Laurence Gonzales really gets this stuff. I should get in touch.]
Source:

Take me back to the start

Take me back to the start: Out on the trail, the value of your paltry possessions takes on a whole different meaning. Clothing becomes as valuable as the body parts it protects. Electronic gadgets are heavy luxuries. A hack repair job that keeps a bicycle running is as good as gold. Cash is worthless. And kindness can change the world. [I need some trail time. It’s been too long. Way too long. Maybe in a few months? Definitely!]
Source: Up in Alaska

Oh, so sad about grandpa. We had to put him in a home.

Oh, so sad about grandpa. We had to put him in a home.: I sure have to go to the bathroom, these damn antibiotics and the flu are keeping me pretty often in the bathroom. Oh, look we have a copy of Bicycling’s Gear Guide. I’ll read that. Sure wonder what that gunpowder smell is, oh well. [Funny, funny. I’m the same way. Some days I find at the very end of the day that one thing I said I have to do today i still undone. Although David seems to have more “burn down the house” moments than I do.]
Source: Attention Deficit David

The long slide to gone

The long slide to gone: We spend a lot of time talking about the ends and the means, but it’s also worth considering whether the journey is worth the reward. If you have to compromise what you do just to keep doing it, what’s the point? [Sometimes the point is just surviving for a while, but I think Seth’s point is larger one, and a good one. We have so little time. Make it all count.]
Source: Seth’s Blog

Mojo: Fruit Nut Dipped and Crunch

The Great Mojo bar Taste Test continues…

In our last episode our intrepid hero had delivered Mojo bars to fellow cyclists of taste, breeding, and class. Or maybe not. Hard for me to say. Anyway, they’re busy crunching their way through the bars and will be posting about them shortly. More were delivered Sunday, and the final batch are going out this week.

As for me, I’ve been enjoying the fruit/nut combos. There are two different bars, one of the new “dipped” flavors and and one of the original recipe. On comment I should make which is familiar to all who eat food in the outdoors during the winter. Be careful to warm the product as best you can (inside pocket, close to something warm etc.) because almost any food that doesn’t freeze solid still turns into a rock. Some flavors are better than others… but still. You gots to be careful or, well… you may lose a tooth.

That said, I’ve always loved dried fruit and nuts, so these flavors should kinda be a natural for me. Unfortunately, I find them a bit sweet and since the part of the Clif Mojo thing that I dig is that they are salty… at least saltier, this is not a good thing. I disclaim that I cook with very little salt, and eat almost no processed sugar and very few sugary sweets, candy bars, and the like. These bars are about as close as I come. No big philosophical thing here, simply what I need to do to stay healthy. YMMV. Anyway, I find dried fruit very sweet, and so these Mojo flavors are especially sweet tasting to me. I wish they were saltier. I do. But they’re not. Sigh.

So while I like them, they fall into the “everything” else category of sweetish tasting power bars. Fine for what they are, but missing the essence of Mojoness for me.