This past spring, with all it's rainy days and cool weather has probably
kept many of us from taking some (but hopefully not all) of those long
awaited cool springtime rides that we look forward to each year, myself
included. Sitting inside looking out at the almost constant rains, day
after day, has given me time to reflect on the past year since I started
to write my monthly column for VirginiaWind, and to review some of my
articles, especially the early ones, to see where I could have improved
them, made the thoughts and images clearer or simply more poignant.
During that review one thought or concern that was uppermost in my mind
when I first started rereading my work, was whether my words and pictures
were (and are) becoming redundant. As I reviewed them I began to realize
that while the words may often reflect the same feelings or experiences
and the word pictures I paint may often be of a similar vain, each one,
be it poem, story or thought, is (hopefully) unique in many ways as well.
The trick is in approaching each idea in a way that finds something different
or unique about it, or relates it in a new context; and in so doing find
a new or fresh view to relate about a common theme. If I can even begin
to achieve that, then it is, and has been, worth the effort.
Taking that thought a step farther I can relate it to the experience
of motorcycling as well. Simply put, the world is a mighty big place,
and contains an infinite number of levels to explore and comprehend. Much
like the images created with fractal
geometry, where there are an almost infinite number of itinerations
that can be applied leading to ever greater detail, so it is with the
physical world that surrounds us. Fractal geometry is, in fact, a way
of representing that complexity, which is why I find it so fascinating.
It is my firm belief that what a person sees or senses from each encounter,
each poem or story, each vision or image, is so much more dependant on
how they perceive it, than on what they perceive. In choosing
to ignore the details the greater wonder is lost. To say "I see"
is to say not only does one perceive the whole, but rather, that they
understand what lies within. This is assuming, of course, they
have the desire to make the effort to discover the inner beauty that lies
at the core of each perception, and more importantly, to view each level
in new and unique way with each encounter. To find something that they
missed the last time or a new relationship between the parts that make
up the whole.
So it is with each ride. Even a ride taken many times through the same
area can be unique each time as long as the rider is willing to open them
self to everything that each experience has to offer. If, on the other
hand, they simply view only the surface they are then left with nothing
that makes it unique and therein miss the better part of it, and it truly
does become redundant.
To me this is why so many people get bored with life, or are themselves
boring. They simply fail to understand that its up to them to make
the effort, not have it dished out and explained to them by others. Dull,
boring people serving dull, boring concepts to other, even more boring
people, kills any hope for happiness or awareness for all those involved!
Scary thought, but all too real for so many.
I've lost count of the times I've been up on Skyline Drive or some other
magical place with vast expanses of stunning vistas and heard people remark
about how beautiful the view is. Yet I wonder how many of them see beyond
the surface of things to contemplate all the nuances of what surrounds
them. To what level does their awareness extend? Do they perceive the
underlying structure of the mountains? Do they contemplate the diversity
of creatures living in, and under, that great green canopy, or hiding
among the rocks and grasses in the open fields scattered amongst the forest
landscape? Do they stop and really see the variety of plants and
trees? Are they aware of all the various shapes of the leaves, the subtle
details of the veins within those leaves, or the different patterns of
growth within each variety? Are they capable of extending their perception
to include all levels of detail in one vision, or do they simply see it
on a single level and then move on? Are they truly aware?
I suspect that all too often they do not, and are not, that they have
lost the innate curiosity we are all born with. And sadly those that do
not truly see are not even aware of their loss. No doubt there
are those who have not lost this inborn ability and yet others who have
even learned to enhance the gift we were all once blessed with, but I
suspect those that have held on to this ability are by far the minority.
For those that have managed to hang on to this ability, their enjoyment
of life is all the greater for it, and are truly "blessed".
It not such a hard task to accomplish, there is no secret formula, you
don't need to perform any chants or magical rituals to achieve this greater
awareness. All that's required to become aware is taking the time to bend
down and pick up a leaf and look at it, I mean really look at it, to study
the detail, and extend this awareness of detail to everything else that
surrounds you. Or sit by a stream or small brook and just watch, after
a while you will be amazed at the level of activity in the water, along
the edge, in the mud or between the rocks. There is almost constant activity
all around us, but it takes time, quiet time, to let it return, by blending
into your surroundings and making the effort to listen and watch.
The more you become aware of the different levels of detail the easier
it becomes to blend it all into the whole, and the reward is a magical
new awareness that will stay with you always and permeate all that you
experience!
So in the end, although I did not get in as much riding as I had hoped,
this spring was indeed rewarding as it gave me time to reflect on the
past year as well as my many years of riding and countless rides. And
reflecting on my words and poems has given me some new insights into my
own literary efforts. Areas to improve as well as areas where I feel I
succeeded, reflections that will help me become more adept at relating
to others those thoughts and images that have become so much a part of
myself and my days on the road, riding free as the wind itself.
And so, in closing, I offer this poem that was inspired by a recent rainy
day ride that I took because I simply could no longer just sit by the
window peering out into the rain. Where the need, the desire to ride,
to attend a gathering of my riding peers became overpowering and I simply
had to get out on the road and connect once again with all that being
a Rider has to offer.
Spring Rains
The rains came and washed the mountain passes
As storm clouds swirled around me;
Pressing down, obscuring my vision
as I rode the silent peaks.
A shadow-man astride a shadow-beast.
Endless minutes passing;
Every mile filled with grace.
I was caught within the essence of the ride,
The road,
The
rain.
The reason for riding self-evident.
Valleys hidden in the mist below me,
Called me home to warmth and a dry bed.
Yet I could not turn back till the ride was done.
So on I rode through the grayness.
Winds whipped 'round me, tugging my soul mate;
Pulling at my machine without mercy.
Flowing across the surface of dark pavement,
Intent on it's desire to dislodge me.
Unrelenting,
Unforgiving,
Still I could but go on,
the course yet completed.
The loneliness of my long and timeless ride enveloped me,
Provided it's quiet comfort,
In the endless moments
on a road lost in mountain
rain
on
my moonless ride through the night.
Sweet waters poured from the sky,
Kissing my lips, wetting my appetite for another mile;
Another minute of silence in this place,
Free of worries,
Free
of fears,
To exist only in each
passing moment
and
nothing more.
I rode on through the darkness into the morning light.
The ever changing rhythms of the rain my only companion.
Day approached, black pavement sparkled in the ensuing dawn.
Silence gave way to morning sounds against the backdrop
of the ever present rain
that beat against me.
I chased the dawn in a high mountain landscape.
Always riding
Ever
onward
through clearing visions
of rain soaked forests in the air.
Riding the transition from darkness to dawn
my vision was filled with
all the splendor that surrounded me.
All those moments spent in rain splattered wonder
came rushing home and
I knew with crystal clarity
what I've always known;
The rains will cease,
But
the ride goes on forever.
