WITHOUT LIMITS: DANCING IN MY PEDALS

I like what is between your legs--nice bike! That is our cycling humor. Ever do something that just engulfs your body? You feel totally alive? Cycling is one of those for me.

Some time ago I was asked: "Miles, why do you love cycling so much?" At the time I really didn't have an answer, or the correct one. Shortly after, I realized that it was an event with my brother. I was six, perhaps seven, and had just learned to ride a bike. Weeks later, he [then fifteen or sixteen] said, "We are cycling to Grandma and Grandpa's." From Greystone Heights to Richmond Heights. Down busy College Drive, over a bridge and a river. Six miles each way. A Thursday night. My mind was racing. Heart pumping furiously. Fear. Excitement.

Breathless. I still remember, to this day, the kaleidoscope of emotions. I remember thinking, "I must keep up to him and I can't fall over." My little legs turned those pedals. We made it home safely.

Each and everytime I get in the saddle, those emotions course through me. Excitement. Fear. Alive. Being in the moment, present, the timeless Now. A tour de force of the mind, body and soul.

There are times that I ride to push my limits. Throwing my body into chaos. Tapping into the vast storehouse of unlimited, unmanifested human potential. How far can I push the body? This machine. Many days are like this--like some kind of study of the human condition. Others can be more of a leisure ride. Lost--so lost in the joys of carefree wondering that even the hustle and bustle of a noisy highway can become quiet, like a library.

One does not necessarily have to go to a tranquil beach or behold a beautiful sunset to find real beauty. Real beauty is found in oneself. It's not a location, the location is you. To truly travel is to travel within. That's the ultimate vacation. You can write things like that out there. Or perhaps, anywhere. It is possible if one allots time, real time.

I truly believe we need to escape each day. Have time to ourselves, with ourselves, to go purposefully within ourselves. With that, many things occur. One recharges, not their smartphone battery, but more importantly, their own eternal battery. One detoxes from the day-to-day grind of society, removing the pollution of negativity and stress. Tapping into the vital life force that can be found only in the inner realms, one gets back on the path to one's True self. Like the energizer bunny, one is able to keep going and going and going...body revived, soul restored, spirit renewed. One has to allot time each day for this. If not, your chain slips, breaks, and no real forward momentum develops.

As I'm clipped into my pedals while turning over the 53 tooth crank, I think of my late father, friends that died too soon, kids in wheelchairs. Grateful that I can. Not taking health or life for granted. My father was killed in a tragic potash mine accident when I was five. October 17th, 1968. I'm sure the thought never crossed his mind that he wouldn't have an October 18th, 1968. Or, that plate of bacon and eggs cooked by mom would be his last meal.

From that, I learned that tomorrow isn't promised to anyone, that we have to be our best today. Today is all that we really have. Now is all there is. Life is hard work. Life is tough. There are no guarantees. There is no fairy godmother floating in the sky or genie to grant our every wish. There is no magic pill to rid life of its pain, sorrow and heartache. There are no shortcuts. Period.

Once we get this, stop resisting what is, we can begin the process of awakening from the illusion, thinking that we need things outside ourselves to make us happy. Behind this veil of illusion, one is guaranteed to find all the joy, beauty, and meaning that life gifts to us.

The cycling time trial is truly a 'race of truth'. Saturday, July 7th, 2012, I would create my best result - 46.5 km (28.8 miles) time trial of 58 minutes. Results are joyful. The exhilaration of beating your personal best is indescribable. When one creates his or her best, the most wonderful feeling comes from it. You've created a result that no one can take from you.

As it is said: "It is better to execute then to be executed." It's one thing to watch sports, but it sure is far more enjoyable partaking in your own life. If that were sports at your community gym, activities at the local rec center, or anything else that gets you up and moving. Life is not a spectator sport. It's about getting engrossed in your own life. Not sitting on the sidelines, waiting for opportunity to come grab you by the hand. Not living vicariously through another's life. Vegging out on the couch, eating a triple bypass burger or mindlessly snacking on calorie laden, artery clogging, chemically altered food. Passive. Drinking, even tweeting about it. Spending countless hours on Facebook posting mindless, empty, trivial info about one's self or perusing other's Facebook page to read meaningless information about people you don't even know well.

One must ask the questions, did all that posting and reading on Facebook improve my life? Did I learn something new, gain valuable insight, and become a more compassionate and caring human being?

To live one's best life, one must become engaged to something in their life. One must play full out. Living one's life as if one's life depended on it. A sense of urgency. One must awaken, stop sleepwalking through life. Heed the knock at the door. Real passion stands there waiting. Take hold, for the passionate pursuit of it will take you on an exhilarating ride of unspeakable joy.

So, I look down and enjoy what is between my legs, my old friend--my vintage bike frame. Purchased in August of 1987. The places we have been. The people that we have met, and the life lessons I've learned along the way. I really didn't plan all this when I purchased the bike. The journey, in ways, found me. This life without limits. With this endless prairie sky and the sound of nature, I dance in my pedals.

SURROUND YOURSELF WITH LIGHT

Below are beautiful thoughts for all of you to use as inspirational guidance. Feel free to send these old, wise suggestions, to anyone you care for, and are thinking about right now.  

 

- Don't ever take away someone's hope; it may be all they have to hold on to.

- There is nothing good or bad in life, it is all about choices, so choose wisely.

- Don't be afraid of saying, "I don't know" or "I am sorry". - Learn to say "no", but do so with kindness and caring.

- Don't make decisions when you are angry. - Live in the moment. Don't rush ahead. There is much to taste of life in the "now".

- Don't expect life to be fair, but don't be so hard on yourself.

- You've come to this life to learn all about who you are. So enjoy the experience.

- Put yourself into positively challenging situations everyday.

- Don't be worried about losing a battle, if this helps you win the war.

- Much of your growth as a person will come through hardships and challenges. Embrace those and know you will be better, stronger and wiser because of them.

- Create magic moments for your family, friends and yourself.

- Don't put things off. Do what needs to be done in the moment.

- Treat everyone, as you would like to be treated.

- Don't get out of control at any time, breathe deeply, rethink what to do and say.

 -Take care of your physical body.

- Love your body. It knows what you think, from your emotions spring health or illness.

- Repeat positive affirmations all the time.

- Look into the eyes of people.

- Learn to listen. It is an art.

- Don't believe all that you hear AND don't say all that you think.

- Always tell the truth.

- Be thoughtful and careful with what comes out of your mouth since with those words you create your own reality.

- You don't need other people to love yourself. Loneliness is only a state of mind.

- Nurture and maintain your friendships.

- Choose your partner well, for there is derived a lot of happiness.

- Live more in your heart and less in your head.

- Surround yourself with light everyday!

- You have a right to be happy!

- Get rid of hatred and bitterness, they do you more harm.

- Life is all about energy. Try to feel it around you, through you and in you.

- Distinguish the positive from the negative.

- There are no coincidences and no accidents in life. Everything big and small is for a reason. Pay careful attention.

- Enjoy the beauty of this Earth all around you.

- There are those things in life that can never be recaptured: the spoken word, time passed and opportunities.

- Do one thing at a time and do it well.

- There are two dominant energies in life, love and fear. Love overcomes all. Stay out of fear. There is nothing to fear, it only brings chaos

- Meditate at least thirty minutes a day.

- Learn to enjoy times of rest. And have a great journey.

FINISH WHAT YOU HAVE STARTED By Bob Perks

I have so many things in my file of "Unfinished Business." Not a file in a drawer in my office, but a file I keep stored in my mind.

These things that I began over the last almost 62 years now, are piling up on me.

Some, I will admit were foolish dreams and plans that may have had a beginning, but were destined to end early without completion.

Still others sit there looking out at me waiting for me to give them life again.

Today I came across a message in a bag I carried with me to the radio station each Saturday morning as I did my live broadcast, "Success Line."

I wish I had to the chance today to be there behind the microphone sharing the thousands of stories that came into my life at that time.

Today, I decided to dust one off and share it with you.

Maybe, like me, you, too, have many unfinished things in your life waiting for you to rediscover them before it's too late.

From "The confidence Course" by Walter Anderson 1997)

"At ten minutes to seven on a dark, cool evening in Mexico City in 1968, John Stephen Akwari of Tanzania painfully hobbled into the Olympic Stadium, the last man to finish the marathon.

The winner had already been crowned and the victory ceremony waslong finished. So the stadium was almost empty as Akwari, alone, his leg bloody and bandaged, struggled to circle the track to the finish line. The respected documentary filmmaker, Bud Greenspan, watched from a distance. Then, intrigued, Bud walked over to Akwari and asked why he continued the grueling struggle to the finish line.

The young man from Tanzania answered softly, "My country did not send me five thousand miles to start the race. They sent me five thousand miles to finish the race."
What things have you started and never finished?

What dreams are still waiting for you in a file marked, "Unfinished Business?"

Isn't it time to dust them off and head toward the finish line?

God didn't create to to start this life. He created you to finish it!
"I believe in you!"