“I might never have left the good times behind if I had realized exactly when I was leaving them.”
~Ashleigh Brilliant
“The Journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”(or turn of the peddle) ~Lao-tzu
With one turn of my bicycle peddle I bravely set out from the Oregon/California border on a solo journey. In my mind I was holding a vision of the Mexican border 1001 miles to the south.
The purpose of my quest was to experience, first hand, Lao-tzu’s wisdom. Unknowingly, the purpose of my adventure was in jeopardy from the get go.
On I cranked, sweating and cursing the steep hills, narrow highway, scorching heat, and dangerous traffic on the the California Pacific Coast Highway. It was miserable! I hated every inch of it. But I had a goal: frozen margaritas, happy mariachies, and beautiful women in Mexico. Viva-la-Mexico! And then of course there were the very important bragging rights my ego would earn for having done the trip in the first place. I’m on my way!
On the third day of my 30 day transformation I was rudely shoved off the road by a monstrous 40 foot motor home. There I sat, in a ditch covered with mud, possessions and ego way out of joint. I was actually inventing new curse words. #*@&^
“STOP!” I finally said to myself.
“What are you doing? If you are not enjoying this experience, put the damn bike on a bus and go home. Why be miserable? You have choices!”
Experiencing the journey of a thousand miles began in that moment. . .
~Rick Nichols
Book O’ the Week
The Tao Te Ching
by: Lao-tzu
translation by: Steven Mitchel
Lao-tzu’s Tao Te Ching, or Book of the Way, is the classic manual on the art of living, and one of the wonders of the world.
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Dear Hearts,
Another translation for Lao-tzu’s empowering words might look like this:
“Even the longest journey must begin where you stand.” ~Lao-tzu
My motivation for this journey was to get a real experience of this concept along with the intellectual knowing of it. I discovered pretty quickly that there is a huge gap between the two. Knowing of something and being that thing are very different.
There were a couple things that I didn’t understand about those words when I took the first “step”.
1. No matter where we are, or what’s going on in our lives, each next step is the first step to where we’re going.
2. We get to choose in each moment where we want to go and how to go there. Stated another way, “The point of power is in the present moment.” ~Jane Roberts
What I learned on that little bicycle ride from Oregon to Mexico could fill a book. The most profound thing I learned was the incredible value of being in the moment. The first couple of days as I cranked on I was always trying to be where I wasn’t: Working my way up a hill I was always trying to be at the top while cursing the trip to the top. Instead of savoring the beautiful views along the Pacific Coast I was trying to be in Mexico. Oh duh, if it was about going to Mexico I could have driven there from my home in about two hours!
So what was it about? It was about the JOURNEY! It had nothing to do with Mexico. It was about experiencing each crank of the peddle, and each new vista, whether riding up hill against the wind, or gliding down hill with the wind at my back. Each experience is an important part of the journey and they all have incredible value!
Make it a great week!
Love and blessings,
Rick and Patricia
