and the springy motion of my iron steed.
The rapid rush through the air gives me a
delicious sense of strength and buoyancy,
and the exercise makes my pulse dance and my heart sing.”
A day.
No matter who you are, where you live or when you live, a day is the same amount of time for everyone. You can look at it as you “only” have twenty-four hours in a day or you can have the perspective that twenty-four hours seem to stretch endlessly into the future.
It is all just a matter of perspective.
How you act upon that perspective is your attitude.
As life moves from day to day, our perspective and attitude can and will change slightly or even dramatically, but time never stops. The hours won’t pause. The day will not linger.
Of course, there have been days in my life that I wish I could just skip and some that I wished would never end. The unhappy moments we want to speedily skip and that is just human nature. Since we all know that those unpleasant times will happen, can we prepare for them?
That depends upon many things, but mainly it is based upon your perspective and attitude. It is the “Is the cup half empty or half full?” thing. Another factor in this progression is based upon our own determination to succeed by making it through the unhappy times with dignity and a sense of accomplishment.
Attitude. Perspective. Determination.
Those three words are really big.
As a young child I had a bicycle with a banana seat. As I recall, the bike was gold with a huge white, plastic basket adorned with various bright, plastic flowers. I also had different colored straws on the spokes of the wheels that went click, click, click as I rode.
Practically every day, I rode my bicycle for hours, up and down the street and around the cul-de-sac that was within the view of my home.
Since my sister was four years younger, I usually rode my bike alone. Sometimes I imagined that I was soaring across the country and at other times I was simply the lady that drove the school bus. No matter where my imagination took me, I was totally in the moment.
Day after day, I would pedal my bike completely absorbed in my imagination.
Riding.
Pausing.
Pedaling slowly.
Stopping.
Pedaling fast.
Imagining.
The wind blowing in my face was calming and freed me from my current condition of being just a child, riding a banana bicycle up and down the street in front of her home. At any given moment I could have driven past the stop sign at the end of our street, but not once was I ever tempted to do it. After Mom gave me the rules and told me how far I was allowed to ride, I never thought twice about it. The rule was set and I lived by it and thrived within my own imagination.
Thinking back now, I realize that I never even had the urge to venture further. I was completely content with the world my mother allowed me to experience alone on my bicycle. Eventually, however, I did grow up and my world had to encompass much more than just the street in front of my home.
It is scary riding past the stop sign.
Every day we all have the opportunity to sit alone on our bicycle and ride like the wind through our lives. At times, that is a good plan of action and although stopping is optional, it is a good practice.
In order to see where you have been and where you are going, you must remember the past, contemplate, recognize the present and plan for the future. That requires moments of peace and stillness which can only happen by stopping. The life that looms ahead into the darkness can and will be whatever you make it. Do you really want it to be based on decisions that you haphazardly made while soaring through other activities?
I doubt it.
I am still pretty much sitting alone on my bicycle riding up and down the street. Lately I haven’t ventured very far past the stop sign. Seventy-five percent of the time I think I am completely stopped, staring at the sky or examining the pebbles on the road. Thankfully, I finally accept that stopping at this point of my life is necessary and actually enjoyable. Soon, I will pedal past the stop sign and ride like the wind.
The important thing to remember is that you and I have the choice to ride or stop when and where we need or want to do so. In order to keep life in perspective, it is necessary to tweak the attitude and focus our attention with enhanced determination.
Eventually that familiar voice will say, “Dinner is ready! Time to come home!” and the ride will be over. What other people said, how many material possessions we collected or how much fun we experienced really won’t matter. What is important?
You know the answer to that question.
Love. That emotion that blooms in our hearts and directs our actions.
Yes, it is all based on loving each other as much as we can possibly love each other.
Hopefully while you are riding like the wind today, you will stop and show your love for those people that really matter in your life. That’s what I’m going to do right now because my daughter has the flu and is asking for crackers. Yep, it is going to be a fun day!
Now, the time we have all been anxiously awaiting…This is the weekly post where I spotlight my Rockin’ Friends who are the Top Nine active participants and loyal followers in my community where you will find THE BEST people in the world! If you want to be mentioned here next week, then all it takes is to come in and start chatting with everyone in my community.
With a big, heartfelt thank you for their participation and friendship, here are the Rockin’ Friends this week in order of most participation.
- Meg at Mergie
- Joan at A Bad Marriage Is Fattening
- Katlupe at Homesteading On The Internet
- Paula at The Wandering Hearth
- Bev at eBlebco
- Teresa Wilkinson ~ The Storyteller
- Kristi at The Child Sensitive Communication Grid
- Angela at Home Cooked Healthy
- Fawn at Happy Wives Club
I’m so glad that I’ve been able to become friends with these wonderful people who are so active in my community. I encourage you to add their blogs to your blogroll, but also come over and chat with us in my community.
For everyone mentioned in the top nine this week, feel free to grab the Rockin’ Friend badge below and thank you for your participation!!
Until next week…Kiss your family, hug your friends and don’t forget to be the friend you would like to have around.
Woo Us To Your Blog
I will NOT look at your sidebar…
I will NOT look at your sidebar…
OMG I JUST looked at your sidebar and gained another 5 pounds! 🙂
Merry Christmas to you dear friend… see you on Twitter! 🙂
Ramona
http://create-with-joy.com
I love your post! We always preach to our kids..atitudes are more important than facts. And that food looks soooo good1 Yum. I am a new follower.
I never worried about you going pass the stop sign. I knew you would never disobey me. I knew you trusted and loved me and you had honor even as a child. I have been proud of you and am grateful you were an obedient little girl, it made your life beautiful and mine too.
You made me remember wonderful memories of riding my bicycle. I did ride like the wind.