Biking the Path

Even though here the winter doesn’t look as cold and gray as in other places, the temperature drops, mornings are cold. So riding feels different. Also, since I’m on vacations, I have more time for thinking and be in the garden. It’s a time for family, and to be near some dear friends.

My father used to say to me to look back, and to foresee the year to come. And I tend to do so.

So I see a past year that was not that satisfying, and a new one with lots of creative work, and drawing, and prints. And many more kilometers on my bicycles!

Cheers!

Yesterday morning, while I was riding my bike, I was thinking of the new bicycle I want, a beautiful Temple, from England.

Well, I have enough bikes. The folding one, a Tern Link 08; the one that I was riding, a Viscount; an old Raleigh, a Sprite; an e-bike, that works great; and a Mercurio, from Mexico, that I use fore doing some errands. And now, I want a Brompton, that would take the place of the Tern (Really?!), and the blue Temple that may take the place of both the Mercurio and the Raleigh (although I have no intention of getting rid of the Raleigh). So, after some time, I was in shock. What happened to my new life plan? OK, I know it’s a plan that is going to take time, but I should do something different.

One difficult issue (for me) is the healthy eating. I knew from the beginning that this one would be hard. I’m overweight, I love food, and my eating habits are not the best. I’m working on it, doing some progress. With my weekly riding (3-4 times a week / 25 km) and some changes, I’m loosing weight and feel better.

I have managed to be disciplined in my morning zazen. This one most be the less difficult, since I have done it for a long time, and is the foundation of the whole plan.

But what about my dependency on things? Wow! This one is really something! I knew beforehand that I have many things, and needed order and some declutter. But I haven’t realized the real problem, the dimension of it. That doesn’t mean I should not buy the bicycle I want, but, why having so many? Or the number of smoking pipes I have, and planning to have some more. Or caps, or the old stuff, or….

Definitely, I need to work on this issue.

It was almost noon. I looked through the window, the possibility of rain was there. It was a 15 minute ride, and the return. Should I take my bike or not?

I’m one of those that keep promoting the bicycle as an alternative way of moving in the city. But San Luis Potosí, like many other cities in Mexico, is not the best place to venture on a bike. Any how, I keep on doing it, I promote it. But on a rainy day?

I was in the moment of decision, I needed to be on time. Conviction or comfort? I took my yellow poncho for the rain, my backpack, and there I was, riding my beloved Tern.

The ride was nice, there was no rain, and the feeling of being a good guy was great.

(En español)

Yesterday, a beautiful rainy Sunday, we had a family luncheon. Although it was cloudy, and we had some light rain, we set the grill and all that it was needed for family time.

Later, alone, I thought about my parents and siblings. How great it was to get together and enjoy moments. I remembered friends and parties, school days. Always having a good time with dear ones.

At the end, we are alone. We are individuals searching for answers, for the meaning of life, if we are lucky. There are some things that we must solve alone.

Life has taken me to Zen practice. I seat by myself, in silence, looking inwards. I seat alone, in silence, to live the moment, hoping I will find peace, hoping I can make contact with the being that dwels in me.

Alone, knowing that there are others that make a companionship. Others that let me understand, that may help me enjoy life, that can help me love myself. If I love myself, I might be able to love others, to feel compassion.

(En español)

I was watching a video last night, and it shocked me: we go to sleep with the assurance that we’re going to wake up the next day.

That is how we go on life, making plans for the time to come. But no one is sure. Just when writing, a very close relative and two close friends from school are going through an illness that might end with their lives soon.

Is it something to worry about? We shouldn’t. As it is written in Mathew: “Each day has enough trouble of its own“.

So, today I woke up, stretched, and thanked for the new day. Got ready, and there I was, on my bicycle, looking at a wonderful sky. After 25 km, the day looks different.

For some time, I have tried to make some changes. What am I trying to achieve? Only to live a better life. Everything started with my search of a more profound spirituality, and in doing so, I discovered that there are changes I must do in order to live better.

For example, because I’m a person with certain lack of order, and with a tendency to clutter, there is the need of throwing away things, papers, and even to get rid of ideas and conducts that I keep on carrying around, more like a ballast than an advantage.

I belong to an association, International Satsang Association, that helps me on my spiritual search. I practice zazen with a Soto Zen group. I’m trying to improve my eating and health habits, although I smoke pipe.

As for the name of the blog. Well, it happens that I think that the bicycle is a great object, and I love it. It helps me to commute, I use it to move around and exercise. It also allows me to internalize and think. So, in a way, what I share here it has to pass through the filter of wandering on my bicycle, biking the path.

WELCOME!