I crashed exactly 5 months ago today. That left me unable to do alot of things for a solid 3 months. I am starting to believe that perhaps it was the universe's way of saying, "Hey Jim it's gonna be a terrible winter, maybe you should pick another time to start the 3.6.5 ride!" I've imagined myself attempting to pull the bike out in some of this weather and I have to admit it may have been near impossible. The whole idea was to put myself in an uncomfortable situation and still maintain some sense of mindfulness. It was to be a reminder in a physical and mental way that things can be pretty rough in life but if I remained present in any given situation it would not become to overwhelming to handle no matter what. Turns out I didn't need to challenge myself with this crazy idea to ride everyday. A month or so into it I crashed and since that day I was faced with a whole lot of, how can I say it...SH*T!
As a tattoo artist I have often explained the process of a tattoo to my clients as being a slow one. In comparison to a drawing on paper it can take twice as long to execute the same art on skin. This winter has handed me example after example of things in life that present themselves as a slow process. My injury for one, considering it was just the tip of my finger, had some great damage. It's taken 5 months to get the little bugger moving again and I still don't have full range. I know it will take quite a long time to regain a lot of the strength I once had.The amount of snow on the ground will certainly take a good deal of time to melt away. My motorcycle has gotten some maintenance but still needs a bit more and with the cold temps and not so ideal working conditions its gonna take more time to complete it and get it ready for spring.
These are some of the more obvious examples of things in my life that appear to be a slow process.
So as I wait and watch the snow slowly melt away only to be blanketed by yet another new snowfall, my hope to ride soon gets repressed. I know that the Spring is coming and even if the weather discourages those who are waiting to get out there and be free on two wheels, there is always hope. If I lost hope I probably wouldn't be tattooing again or get back on my bike. The winter can glare its harsh ways and make us wait to get this riding season going just as life can hand us a shit storm occasionally. Getting to where we wanna be whether its on the bike 1500 miles away from home or just a better place in our own minds, is sometimes a slow process.
Hope is a lot like riding the motorcycle. The act of swinging a leg over the bike and sitting on it shows you've got the intention to ride off and experience the world around you. That seems like a hopeful intention to me but, if you don't fire that machine up and roll on that throttle that hope is dead.
I have found the best way to get through the shit storms is to keep moving, no matter how slow a process it might be, just keep moving.
Happy Sunday!
Jim
