Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, not much to do with all this snow...

The snow has slowed us all down. Personally it has slowed me down both physically and mentally which explains the lack of blogs. After a couple of good snowstorms I thought I'd write a little update. Here it is 2011 and we've slid our way into a snowy new year. Like the hills I used to sled on as a kid, I've been cruising my way down a couple of them only to tromp back up and do it all over again. I'm speaking of course figuratively cuz damned if I am gonna get on a sled at my age and I'm certainly not cruising on the motorcycle. You can be sure with the first sign of spring I'll be ready to climb on that beast and start exploring more roads, more states and more aspects of this little brain of mine.
As I get older I've become less interested in the winters, though they are pretty to look at I'd just assume sit in front of a fire with a cup of hot chocolate, a bag of popcorn and a good movie. I've often thought of the winter as the great equalizer. Everything is coated in white snow, we're all forced to slow down, we're all digging ourselves out and waiting to see if there will be work to hustle off to for the day. In that respect I like what the winter does to all of us. No matter who you are or what you do, "Old Man Winter" levels the playing field even if it is for a short period of time. You certainly don't have as many choices in a snowstorm. Wanna drive fast? Nope... Wanna take the motorcycle out for a countryside drive? Nope... Wanna do some gardening? Nope...
So what do we do when those choices get taken away? We make the best with what we have and as situations change, such as the weather, we begin to look at all of our possibilities and start making the choices that suit us best.
Just as the snow melts and begins to reveal what lies beneath, our minds have the capacity to show us things we never knew were there. When things are constant for as long as we can see, such as a fresh blanket of snow, we tend to act in a certain way. I could get very comfortable with the idea of waking up looking out the window only to see miles of snow and then settle back down into the couch with a cup of coffee. This would probably only last so long before a change would need to take place. When the Spring time starts to creep in and the snow melts away we'll discover a hell of alot more choices to fill our day up with. So what happens when our daily routine is shaken up? Maybe we start a new job, or make a new friend. or lose a good friend. We start to look at things a little differently or have some thoughts we've never had before.
I've been thinking about the night I crashed and if I had chosen not to ride the motorcycle that night, the months that followed would not have changed as drastic as they did for me. I could go over it a hundred times in my head, but that's pointless. I chose to ride that night, I crashed, I injured my hand. Some choices were taken away from me that night. I couldn't tattoo, draw, play drums, hell I could barley get dressed. So I've made the best with what I have and paid attention to some of those thoughts that arose as a result of that accident. My hand's getting stronger and I'm able to make some new choices now so I'll tromp on up another hill. Maybe I'll hang out at the top for a little longer before I decide to come cruising down.

In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility. ~Eleanor Roosevelt


Beware the slippery slopes.
Jim