AND THEN EVENING COMES IN PEACE

Blue hour, blue water...
Originally uploaded by ToNo's world.

Morning moves to day; and day to night. Balance is all around us.

MARBLEHEAD MORNING

MARBLEHEAD MORNING
Originally uploaded by snowriderguy.

The perfection of a sunrise in New England is captured here in this wonderfully balanced photograph of early morning in Marblehead, Massachusetts.

Breath it in.

Shroom Forest

Shroom Forrest
Originally uploaded by Ride n' Fast &Take n' Chances.

Nature abhors a vacuum. Nature seeks life. The tiny Shroom Forest stands tall and proud, though only inches high. It is perfection in every sense.

CURRENTS

Originally uploaded by parasol.

"There's lots of motion in the ocean," an old timer told me a long, long time ago. Yes, indeed, there is.

There's also lots of motion in the air around us. The air is an ocean, less dense for sure than water, but an ocean filled with currents nonetheless.

We enjoy all that our atmospheric ocean brings, whether rain, snow, hail or sunshine. We need them all, in the right balance, to make our planet liveable.

Clouds roll by showing the speed and whirl of these currents. Birds soar in the currents, some so large they can glide for miles without so much as flapping a single wing. Uplifting, such soaring is, not only to the bird but to the person blessed with observing the miracle of such flight.

Flyers of kites work the winds as if they were a three-dimensional dance hall in which colorful contraptions shall trip the light fantastic. Little children open their jackets and feel as if they might fly away.

I watch the currents and sense just how delicate this ecosystem is. To some the currents bring precious rain. To others floods: to still others nothing but further crushed dreams of crops never to grow.

Currents -- rhythms -- balance. The clouds are like Zen Riders on the ultimate journey. They ride the currents. They twist and turn. They go on forever.

The Beauty of Days

Twilight
Originally uploaded by oceangonewrong.

Time has a pulse--a beat. It moves always into the what will be. Time is comforting in that sense. It will bring you sunny days and rainy days. It will bring you dawns and dusks.

It will bring you closer to your future.

Appreciating the beauty of time requires the appreciation of each moment for its own nowness. We need not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Tomorrow will bring its own moments of nowness if we'll only allow ourselves to pause and feel it.

Feel it, hold it.

I was thinking today of how good friends uplift our spirits through even the littlest things. It might even be the simple act of saying "Hello" when you call them on the phone. That little word spoken with genuine kindness bathes the hearer in such warmth.

It's as if you 're holding sunshine in your hands.

Riding, too, brings that sense of completeness to one's soul. Like time, riding has a rhythm and pace. Each turn is an act of nowness--of completeness.

Sunrise to sunset, corner to corner, we ride through time. If we're lucky we actually allow ourselves to feel and love each moment of the journey.

RIKKI-TIKKI-TAVI ON THE ROAD

Some evenings I retire to my library to find a book of comfort. Tonight I happened to spy my volume of Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book." Perfect, I thought.

My first opening of the book happened upon Baloo's recitation of "The Laws of the Jungle." So simple, so clear:

"Now this is the law of the jungle -- as old and as true as the sky; And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die.

Wash daily from nose-tip to tail-tip, but never too deep; and remember, the night is for hunting, and forget not the day is for sleep.

Keep peace with the Lords of the Jungle -- the Tiger, the Panther, the Bear.

When Pack meets with Pack in the Jungle, and neither will go from the trail, Lie down till the leaders have spoken -- it may be fair words shall prevail."

Fanning pages I had read so many years earlier, I stumbled upon what had once been my favorite story as a child, "Rikki-tikki-tavi," the fabled Mongoose who was loved by people and feared by snakes.

But here on the page were words I had never noticed before:

"It is the hardest thing in the world to frighten a mongoose, because he is eaten up from nose to tail with curiosity. The motto of all the mongoose family is, "Run and find out."

Oh my, I hesitated, Rikki-t-t was just like me and so many other adventurers I know. I smiled. I've never particularly likened myself to a mongoose before. But I do like the motto.

When next I depart my home on an adventure I'll remember to call out "Run and Find Out!" I'm so ready for that tonight.

AUTUMN WALKS

The cathedral (1)
Originally uploaded by bikeart.

Today is a perfect day. Oh to walk along a path such as this would be a marvel. I feel it calling, and know that the world is full of such wonders.

WHY WE RIDE

I watched a Falcon soaring in the wind today. Ironic, I thought, given my dreaming yesterday of Andean Condors.

Tonight I'm thinking of the upcoming Columbus Day Weekend, a weekend that has so many years brought fantastic weather. I'm longing to make it a fine farewell to what has been the best Riding Season I can remember in many a year. (I know, there's been a lot of rain this year, but I've become so accustomed to rain riding that I am quite comfortable with it. Even in rain there's magic.)

Accuweather.com is already predicting gorgeous weather, though my common sense makes me question the credibility of weather forecasts two weeks off. Could there actually be another perfect weekend before the bikes are put away for Winter? Gosh I hope so.

There are still roads I need to ride. There are stories to be written. The novel of our lives unfolds as we breath each new breath.

Some say "It's good to be alive." I say, "It's better to devour each day as if it's your last." Seize it -- grasp it -- breath it. That's living!

That's why we ride.

DREAM TRAVELING

Andean Condor
Originally uploaded by Tim Abbott.

There are times one travels for real and times one travels only in dreams. This weekend saw much of the latter sort for me.

Today I spent time listening to hours of Andean music as I daydreamed of motorcycling in South America. One album I found and enjoyed on URGE (microsoft's new online music site) was "Wings of the Condor." The flutes, guitars, bells and voices were spectacular. [I've downloaded several such albums for my next Zen Ride].

Which brings me to Condors. Can you imagine flying like that? Perhaps in our dreams only. I am so thankful that we have dreams to follow. Some dreams become tomorrow's reality.

British Columbia Thinking

Lake Louise 3
Originally uploaded by Patrick Costello.

I was thinking of British Columbia today.

The last time I was there was when my sister and I drove to Alaska in the Summer of 1970. I remember driving up the Fraser River Valley on our way to Dawson Creek to begin the trek up the Alaska Highway. God it is breathtaking country out West.

I wonder when I'll get to BC again. I hope it's either on skis or a bike.