Z is for Living

Z
Originally uploaded by sandcastlematt.

Sea and sand melded together into a perfect Z. How wonderful. Z may be the last letter of the alphabet but it is the first letter of Zen.

Z is for living, Z is for balance, Z is for perfection in balance.

I watched a perfect moon illuminate the sea this weekend. Diamonds of light glittered along the waves as they lapped the beach. Tranquility adorned the shoreline.

Earlier in the week I enjoyed an evening ride with a bright three-quarter moon riding my left shoulder all the way home. Its brilliance shone along the highway more beautifully than any daylight could. I sang songs aloud to myself with the ease one normally finds only in the shower. I was of course bathed in moonlight, so why not?

May your day be balanced in Zs to lead your heart where you need to be. May your night be gloamed in moonlight to lead your soul where you truly should be.

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL

Enchanted Pool
Originally uploaded by SplodgusMaximus.

Water seeks water.
Hope seeks hope.
Love seeks love.
Souls seek eachother.

Bridges, Oceans, and Chocolate Martinis

Fog
Originally uploaded by konaboy.

Where there's water there's sure to be a bridge. Some bridges are more famous than others, though all bridges join worlds otherwise divided.

Motocycle travel, too, joins worlds that otherwise seem divided to one trapped in the cozy confines of a car. Certainly yesterday's wild and wet ride from Newburyport Harbor to home proved that to me once again. I not only drove through a pounding and relentless downpour, I was literally immersed in it.

And it was fun. (I'm glad that a hot shower awaited my arrival, nonetheless.)

Bridges and cruising are just part of the joy of visiting friends and family far and wide. On Saturday evening in Maine, my sister Marie suggested that we concoct a new, untried Martini recipe. So we did.

We made our own version of a Chocolate Martini: chilled vodka, shaken with Coffee/Chocolate Dibbs (little ice cream marvels), squeezed orange rinds, a bit of fresh squeezed orange pulp, and a liberal pour of pure Pomegranate extract, all gently poured into tall Martnini glasses that had been drizzled with chocolate syrup.

I must report that these new liquid wonders are a decidedly undebateable delight.

So was my Sunday morning ride down the coast of Maine to Newburyport, Massachusetts. I was privileged to crisscross ocean bays, a wide river, and estuaries via beaucoup bridges. Some were of steel, others of wood. Each was a joy on a perfect Summer day.

Perfect, that is, until a black wall of rain advanced from west to east directly between me and my intended destination -- home.

All is well. My clothes and motorcycle have dried without harm. My mind and soul are refreshed. The sea and the motorcycle have a way of enlivening the spirit. The Chocolate Martini didn't hurt either.

ROAD ZEN REVISITED

Love These Roads!!!
Originally uploaded by Farol's Fotos.

Here is a road for the motorcycle enthusiast to dream of. Awesome!

WOVEN VINES

Cottage charm
Originally uploaded by Lawrence OP.

Woven fabric, twisted vine;
hand spinned silk, hand woved spline.

A house in the meadow, a home Divine,
Take me there tomorrow, take me there in time.

Reaching for Greatness

Silence
Originally uploaded by SezzRS.

We reach for greatness when we strive to do the best we can do: no less, one hopes for a bit more.

We reach for greatness when we look deep within ourselves and ask the hard questions.

Like the cactus flower that reaches for the sun, we reach for our destiny when we grab our magical machines, our motorcycles, and speed purposefully into our futures.

We are alive.

Pond Zen

Reflected
Originally uploaded by gilmanr.

Ponds are alive with life, color, and flora.

I spent time earlier today walking through seacoast wetlands and shoreline gardens. Birds of every sort sang songs of comfort. A tiny rabbit bounded from beneath a thicket and then vanished within a patch of orange hued flowers.

How fortunate we are when we happen upon nature splendid.

How fortunate we are that ponds dot our landscape with that life giving nectar we call water.

Magical Motion

Great surf this morning
Originally uploaded by stormsurfer29.

One finds magical motion while motorcycling. It can be found in surfing too.

I no longer crash the waves as a surfer: a few shoulder surgeries took care of that for me. I do, however, still find the perfection of motion in the ride.

Magical Motion is alive and well for me and for all who love two wheels in sync-- and that , as they say, is a good thing.

MORNING WALK

morning constitutional
Originally uploaded by Greg'.

How beautiful to walk early in the morn when the sun rises to chase away the night.