After I wrote my "Last blog from Japan" I went for a ride. I really wanted to enjoy the last ride of June before I headed out to be present (and away from exercise) for the next two weeks.
I loved being present throughout my hour, coming and going between thinking of stuff, my breathing, and bringing myself back to my breath by envisioning "a swinging gate" (this is a good way to "see yourself breathing"). Sometimes to see breathing is difficult because it is an autonomic thing, just like our heart beating; we don't control it, and our body knows how to do it without us even thinking. So to actually think about it... can be tough.
Anyway, just before the hardtop turned to gravel 20 minutes up, I happened to see Mr. Tanuki again. I heard him rustling away on the roadside. This time we spent some quiet time breathing and staring at each other. It was nice to watch Mr. T watching me.
As I was riding further up, and being aware of my present moment (you really need to be present to avoid hitting the sharp shale rocks on the road), something occurred to me...
Decades ago when I first started riding (and cyclists will understand this), I learned the following deceptively simple concept:
"Look where you want to go, not where you don't want to go."
Sounds pretty obvious, right? I mean you watch the road as you are riding, not staring off into the trees and the cliffs around you... Yeah. But guess what? That's not what this means.
Let me put it another way:
"Don't look where you don't want to go."
Let me explain what I mean with a very REAL example, and none of this NewAge Wackhead metaphysical existential crap...
When you are riding, there will be many things in your path that you need to avoid, such as glass, branches, rocks, and other things depending upon where you ride. This is true on-road, or off-road as all cyclists will attest to.
Usually when you ride if you are aware of what is going on in front of you, you will see these objects of destruction in your path. Here is where it gets tricky...
If you see the rock, and think "there's a rock! It's sharp! It could damage my tire and make me crash! I need to avoid that rock at all costs and make sure I don't hit it!!"...
you WILL hit it.
Yes, you will. Guaranteed.
Really, you will!
Even as you are staring at this rock screaming, "Noooo! I must avoid it!! I must! I ---- bang!" and you will run over it. (I did just that today).
It's weird, but it really happens.
The goal, of course, is to avoid this rock or debris. In order to do that, what you really need to do is the opposite of what we might think to do. You need to note it, accept that it is there, and then let it go. Instead of fixing your efforts on "avoiding the rock" you must instead focus your attention away from the rock, and on a clear path where the rock is not. Even if the path seems difficult, if you focus on the clear path, you will avoid the rock.
And now I take you on the path back to our breathing, and to that NewAge Wackhead stuff....
Take the rock in the above example and convert it to something that is in your way, a barrier, or a trouble, or a problem that you may have in your life. You need to circumvent that "rock". If you focus your energy on the problem, if you fix your attention on it (as in complaining about it's existence, how it is hampering, harming, causing you undue grief, etc.), your problem will loom up directly in front of you and slap you in the face. You will not be able to avoid that problem, but instead will only create a bigger problem than you previously thought you had.
What you need to be doing instead of focusing on the problem (i.e. ranting or complaining or bitching about it), is to recognize it, note it's existence, and then immediately "let it go" and take your attention away from it while looking for a clear path around the problem.
If you do this, you will always find a clear way to get around, or out of any problems you are in.
The road to your goals may be fraught with danger and hazards, but if you note their existence, and then let them go, stop focusing on the negative aspects, and instead pour all of your energy and soul into moving forward and picking out a clear path... you will succeed.
This is the thought that came to me today when I ran straight into the rock I so desperately wanted to avoid. As soon as I hit the rock I wanted to avoid but was fixing my attention upon, I stopped, and immediately recalled my early training regarding where to look and where not to look.
And then I thought of this comparison to the real world, and how "the rule" still applies.
Whether you are navigating rough terrain out in the wilderness, in the urban jungle, or whether your journey is a trip through life, always remember to look where you want to go, not where you don't want to go and many of the problems that you perceive will cease to be. It really works!
"I choose to see things differently".
I love you!
Cam
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