A Golden Sunset - The Coyotes And The Carrot

 

Song:  Ordinary World

Group:  Duran Duran

As it had only lightly snowed last night...

which then turned to rain...

and as the day was pretty clear...

there was no leftover snow on the ground.

I triked to Sunset Court again near sunset.

There were some interesting clouds...

so...

I made my way to my favorite sunset location and waited for the colors to emerge.

However...

just as the sun set behind the mountains...

once again...

one pack of coyotes to my left...

somewhere behind a ridge line...

and a larger pack of coyotes somewhere beyond the hills to my right...

began howling for a good 5 - 10 seconds...

and then went silent.

When I got back...

I researched on the internet to find out why they do this...

also, why they don't always do so.

Although I could find out why they howl...

I found out nothing on why they howl preciously at sunrise and sunset.

And, the only reason I can think of as to why their howling seems intermittent to me...

is that on some days...they must be too far away for me to hear them.

Animals are creatures of habit.

As are humans.

As I waited for the colors to emerge...

I thought more about this line of thought.

I had written on this particular concept many years ago...

about the habits that we establish in life being the road we walk

to the destination determined by those very habits.

This is an important concept.

What we think...

is only the motivating and planning stage...

the first two stages of the triad of progress.

Most people excel at these two preliminary stages in life...

however, what separates those of whom succeed, from just the dreamers...

is the actual application of that plan in life...

and the actual staying of the course until fruition.

The thing that separates those who never give up on their path...

and of those who do...

is the proper placements of carrots in life.

The initial strength of your dreams...

the amount of passion felt...

and the realization of the plausibility of actually achieving them...

is your main long term goal.

If your dream (your carrot) is strong enough...

this alone is enough to cause you to formulate a viable enough plan...

complete with time line...

and will power you through the intervening years until fruition.

However...

that is a relatively rare occurrence among we humans.

And so...

the need for medium and short term carrots in life.

I had been in a profession where the money was very good...

and the retirement even better...

but offered very little in way of job satisfaction.

But...

it allowed me a path to financial freedom.

That was my medium carrot.

It allowed very early retirement.

My long term carrot was what I have been experiencing the past almost 13 years now.

It has allowed me to pursue my passions of writing and music...

as these were my long term carrots.

My short term carrot was being able to see my son everyday.

I loved to make him laugh and smile...

and to cuddle him to me.

And on my days off...

we would go places...

and I had always loved sunsets and sunrises.

Relatively recently...

I have been developing arthritis...

not only in my knees...

but in my hands.

(However, triking has greatly relieved many of the symptoms...

and has allowed me to exercise without pain or discomfort.)

That is why it has been taking me so long to put out more music

(I still have stiffness in my hands).

However, as it is a true passion...

I won't be giving up on it.

It will just take me longer to do those things...

but I still love doing it.

Now...

my short, medium, and long term carrots all coincide.

Everyday...

I can practice music...

formulate stories in my head...

where once finished...

I may write them out...

and, of course...

I love triking and watching the sunrises and sunsets.

As I had said before...

exercise is the great magnifier of joy in life.

With a recumbent e-trike...

even where partial paralysis may plague someone...

he or she may still trike...

as with the e-assist...

you will be able to keep up with others

with far less expended effort

(Some use an e-trike using one leg).

This will allow you to more slowly get in shape.

If there are toxic people in your life...

cut them loose.

If there is not enough time to exercise...

to enjoy a beautiful sunset...

make time.

Don't complain...

just do it.

Once you make enough money to ensure a comfortable life...

having more will not make you wealthier...

it will just detract from fully living life.

Time is what then becomes the most valuable.

Time spent well...is time remembered well.

And it is those golden memories which enrich our lives.

A short life is one devoid of those golden memories.

What we do as a matter of habit will constitute

the bulk of our lives.

While the coyote operates by habit to survive...

what habits we allow ourselves...

determines whether or not we thrive.

That is our goal.

Any fool can survive...

and it is the fool who doesn't realize that our habits

determine the extent of the quality of our lives.

That which we do...

is that which we become...

for better or worse.

Make the basic four the foundation for your lives...

make them a habit.

Delicious and nutritious diet

Exercise

Deep restorative sleep

Living life with a passion

By placing carrots in your life...

you will have something for which to look forward at all times.

Things you love doing...

become habit.

Prioritize the basic four...

live by them...

and you will have a far richer life than those who

foolishly chase money for the rest of their lives.

In Search Of A Mountain Route - After The Fall

 

Song:  After The Fall

Group:  Two Steps From Hell

I just came back from scouting out...

what I had thought might have been, a passable route into the mountains on my trike.

I am leaving the immediate neighborhood here.

I would continue on for some distance towards where I used to live.

Where I used to live and where I live now is up over 1 mile in elevation...

in the Peavine Mountains...just across from the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Where I used to live...

the homes were on an extended ridge line off of the summit of one of the tallest mountains

in the Peavine mountain range in Reno.

Where I live now...

although it is on the same mountain...

it is situated on a flattened hill top off another extended ridge.

And so...

the hill trails are deceptively steep...

and slippery...

as the hardpan surface of the graded dirt trails are covered

in loose soil and rocks which become like little ball bearings

under, even my aggressively treaded tires.

The trail I had attempted

 may just be seen above where the curve in the road goes out of sight...

the tan trail amongst the bushy green.

I had scanned the whole area by satellite photos a few days ago...

and I had seen this route up a ridge line as a possibility.

Even from this particular point...

it seemed passable.

It was a whole different reality once I got to the bottom of the seemingly easy route up.

As I looked up at the much steeper trail than what I had assumed from a distance...

I was also gauging the surface.

As I saw the loose small rocks and soil on top of a hard pan surface...

combined with the quite steep trail...

my rational mind told me to turn away and try another route.

However...

the little boy inside thirsting for a challenge and some adventure kept insisting...

"Go...go...go...let's try it!"

You can guess which one had won out.

As I gathered speed on the steep down hill approach before starting the steep ascent...

my hopes went up as I pedaled furiously...gathering even more speed...until...

my rear tire lost its bite into the ground...

as the surface rocks and soil acted like ball bearings underneath my rear tire (drive tire)...

my speed rapidly diminished...

and as I was only halfway up...

the little boy inside looked ahead with a wide eyed but resigned stare and merely said...

"Uh Oh!".

As I had almost come to a complete standstill...

and just before starting to slide backwards...

the confident adolescent inside took over and said...

"I got this."

This cocky side of me has led me to try things my rational mind had foreseen as foolish...

but when my inner young boy and inner cocky adolescent form a team...

they frequently overrule reason...

as they bring up movies of previous successes...

while...of course...omitting previous dangerous failures

(I am a guy...it is what we have always done...and no matter our age...

what we will continually do when faced with challenges)...

and so...

what had come immediately to mind was what stunt car drivers do when faced with 

the need to rapidly change directions by 180 degrees.

They would rapidly reverse and then cut the wheel sharply while applying the brakes...

which if done correctly...

allows their momentum to carry them through the 180 degree arc.

Of course...

I had a much higher center of gravity...

combined with a much narrower wheel base...

both of which had told my rational mind that it was a bad idea.

Cocky Adolescent merely arrogantly said,

(referring to the just played out movie of a stunt driver making a perfect execution

of a 180 degree reversal)......

"We've got this.

He can do it...

we can do it!"

The little boy inside kept urging...

"Let's do it! Let's do it!...Go...Go...Go!"

Guess again who won out?

As I allowed my trike to pick up speed as I traveled backwards...

I cut my front wheels sharply to the left.

As I began the arc which I had hoped would lead to a successful 180 degree

reversal of direction...

it was at the 90 degree point that all three put in their opinions of the moment:

Little Boy:  "Oh No..."

Cocky Adolescent:  "Damn...I really thought it would work."

Rational Mind:  He remained silent...but merely crossed his arms as he stared disapprovingly

at me as he shook his head...all the while thinking.... 'Dumb S**t'.

Now...

only because the little boy inside and the cocky adolescent had won out so many times

in my life...

from jumping over trash cans on my banana seated 

and sissy barred Schwinn on homemade ramps as a child 

(Evel Knievel was popular back then)...

to taking corners too aggressively on my motorcycle...

each of which had been the cause of broken bones...

chunks taken out of my motorcycle helmet (rational mind won out on this matter)...

numerous road rashes...etc...

I had already mastered the art of damage mitigation through the well timed shoulder roll.

As the shoulder roll had long ago become instinctive...

as I began the inevitable tip over at the apex of the arc...

all I could think of was...

"Aw hell"...as my concern wasn't with me getting hurt...

but that of my trike getting damaged.

Just before hitting the hard packed surface...

my body automatically reacted with a well timed roll

as I tucked my head and rolled my shoulder...

while drawing in my legs...

all of which led me to almost instantly roll safely out of the confines of the trike...

and pop back up on my feet as my arms automatically extended and caught my trike.

I was still sliding down the hill as my feet had even less traction 

than had the drive tire of my trike.

But, I had my trike in hand...

and that was the important thing.

I finally stopped sliding...

and I righted my trike...

got back on and continued down the hill as I let my newly gathered momentum

carry me up the steep grade leading to the road.

I did a quick check of the trike...

straightened out my sideview mirrors...

had seen that I had saved my trike from bent wheels or even cosmetic damage...

and even my camera which had been looped around my neck and with the lens cap

hanging down from its protective placement over the lens...

yet...with nothing having had happened to the camera or trike...

I was set...

and so...

I returned to Sunset Court...

where my younger sister met me in the car.

As I sat on my trike at Sunset Court...

hoping for a sunset...

but realizing that with another snow storm moving in over the Sierra Nevadas...

the cloud cover would not allow the sun to display its beautiful effects upon them.

So...I just settled in to take in the wintery winds in my snow suit.

--------------------

After the Fall

I stayed for a little while longer as I reflected upon my fall...

the importance of more finely tuning the ratio among the other facets of my personality...

while listening more to my rational mind when he clearly sees an unacceptable risk...

but while not muting, either the little boy inside or the cocky adolescent.

It was the little boy inside who had led me to decide upon getting a trike in the first place.

He lives for adventure...

always looking upon the world with great hope and wonderment...

of seeing the beauty of a sunrise or sunset...

of feeling fully alive when feeling the refreshing mountain winds upon my face...

and feeling the depth of the colors...

and the rhythms, beat, and melody of great pieces of music.

Never be the bitter old soul...

the old man or woman whom had let their inner child die long before...

and so...

reaps no joy out of the great simple pleasures in life...

of living in great anticipation for the next sunrise or sunset...

of living life fully feeling everything around you...

for if everything you see or hear doesn't directly convert to 

a deep soul rendering reverberation of music which makes you feel 

as if you are riding upon the pink clouds of a sunset...

you have let your little boy or girl inside die.

Not to worry though...

he or she is a phoenix...

always ready to rise again...

if you but listen.

Especially when all three are in agreement...

listen to them without fail.

If you are elderly...

especially if you are disabled in any way...

an e-trike will set you on the path which will please all three inside of you

(A recumbent tadpole configured trike with e-drive assist).

When I had first thought of the possibility of getting a trike...

it involved no more thought than seeing the little boy inside

jumping up and down on the balls of his feet in excitement...

his eyes fully open and watering in anticipation...

while repeating....

"Go...Go...Go...Let's do it...Let's do it!"

At the same time...

the cocky adolescent inside was throwing his hands in the air

as he yelled out a victory cry...

"Yes!"

And the rational mind stood in silence with his arms crossed...

but wore a wise smile on his face as he nodded approvingly...

while briefly and gently closing his eyes in his firm urging to do it.

And so...

it was decided.

I have not only NOT regretted it...

I am so happy I had listened.

I fervently urge all senior citizens

to allow your inner child to guide you to a local shop which sells e-trikes.

Once you experience the thrill of the ride...

you will not turn back...

and in doing so...

you will have a new horizon to explore with your awakened

inner child laughing with bubbly delight...

his eyes open widely as he takes in the great outdoors...

his senses fully alive...

and so...

making you...

once again...

live life with your senses on hyper drive and feeling fully alive.

One caveat...

if faced with a steep hill with a questionable surface...

listen to your rational mind.  :)

A Coming Storm - Another Reason To Trike

Song:  Theme From The Valley Of The Dolls

Artist:  Dionne Warwick

We had a snow storm blow through a few days ago.

Another snow storm is supposed to move in later tonight.

The roads were plowed...

so on this night...

I went on a short ride to Sunset Court in hopes of seeing a beautiful sunset.

(My sister decided to follow me in the car...

as she was afraid it might begin to storm)

And so...

I sat on my trike for forty five minutes...

hoping colors would develop in an opening in the abundant amount of clouds.

Although things hadn't developed the way I had hoped...

I still loved the exercise...

and the sweet feeling of being toasty warm in my snow suit

as the brisk and building storm winds blew.

(A look at California through the Sierra Nevadas towards Donner's Pass...

the entry point of so many storms for Reno)

But, most of all...

I love the sweet solitude that being out in inclement weather naturally brings.

------------------------------

As a young child...

I had always loved sitting on a street corner during storms while dressed in my rain suit.

The streets were empty...

and I had a small transistor radio that I listened to while I waited 

for lightening to streak its way across the sky.

Some of my favorite memories as a young child revolves around 

my solo adventures as I walked for miles along a nearby river bank...

just being lost in my thoughts...

and later as a teenager when I would get up an hour before dawn before school...

so I could jog along that same river bank in the dark...

so on the way back...

I could see the sunrise over the mountains

as I smelled the fragrant ripening of tomatoes in the large expanse of tomato fields

which lay before the sunrise.

The rising mists from the fields...

at first...

had a surreal blueish glow as dawn approached...

and then often glowed a deep amber as the sun peeked over the mountains.

Those were magical times.

My point is...

Solitude is a treasure to cherish.

It is a time where we may dream of our future...

and where we may codify past events to extract life lessons to use as a guide for our future.

It is a time where our imagination is developed.

As I walked along endless miles of riverbank in solitude as a young child...

I not only noticed the world around me...

my mind would wander as I entertained myself with the movies of the mind.

Whole dramatic and highly emotionally charged movies would play 

as I watched in my mind's eye...

which of course...

centered around me on some great adventure...

and with some lovely young woman gazing at me with loving eyes

after my having saved her from evil.

You know...

the typical dream of young boys.

The mind abores a vacuum.

It constantly seeks stimulation...

and one of two things usually happens when there is a void of stimuli:

It seeks distraction...

or...

it creates its own stimuli.

Far too many people allow the void to drive them to distraction.

Especially nowadays...

a vast amount of entertainment is at our fingertips...

and so...

the mind is never allowed to fill its void through its own imagination.

Reading used to be another way to stimulate the imagination...

(especially fiction / fantasy novels)

as what you read was automatically converted into a movie of the mind...

with its own distinctive flavor.

I not only love solitude...

I absolutely crave it.

I simply must have at least several hours a day.

I am not anti social...

except around obnoxiously loud and rude people...

which in America...

seems to be the norm.

But even around good people...

I can only take so much small talk.

However...

I love debating interesting topics...

so long as it comes to a conclusion through which 

something new is learned...

or taught.

While I no longer dream of slaying dragons...

my preferred inner world consists of possible futures...

of things I would like to accomplish...

of things I would love to experience...

and the deep emotional stimulation I get when I am there in my possible future...

and, of course...

the endless movies of the mind from which my stories are derived.

Music is so often the progenitor of my movies of the mind.

This is why I love music and writing so much.

I love writing out the movies of my mind 

so others may experience them as do I.

The ultimate freedom may be found in our own minds.

We create the surroundings we wish to live in...

and through our visions of the future...

we align our real life in the here and now...

to match our dreams of the future as closely as possible.

And so...

our dreams become our new reality.

It is through solitude and inspirational surroundings 

that our imagination is stimulated...

and is even much further enhanced by heavy exercise.

That is why triking is so valuable.

It gives the senior citizen the freedom to get out into the great outdoors...

while giving great exercise...

solitude...

and with these...

you will have everything in place to let your imagination

play exceptionally dramatic scenes...

complete with a symphonic orchestral sound track.

As you get into a steady pedaling rhythm

on a meandering forested mountain path with snowcapped 

distant mountain tops peeking through the breaks in the trees...

all the while breathing deeply...the pine scented air 

as a gentle breeze welcomes you in its cool embrace...

your mind will naturally associate the present serenity

with other serene times in your life...

and of serene visions of possible futures.

It is in these times that you will discover your creative passions in life.

Extremely moving musical pieces you had once heard in your life...

the main instrument that causes your heart to cry and your soul to reverberate...

that is the instrument you are destined to learn to play.

This is why the expression that the instrument picks you...

 had come about.

This is a creative passion which will lead you to love life at a much deeper level...

and which will lead you to a serenity you had never before experienced.

This is just one example.

In conclusion...

it is through the outer journey of triking

that can lead you into an inner journey of serenity...

or at the very least...

the exercise alone will greatly negate perceived pain...

while greatly enhancing and amplifying pleasure in everything...

absolutely everything.

 

Looking For A New Route

 

Song:  Reflections Of My Life

Group:  Marmalade

My younger sister and I rode up to Mountain Court on this night.

I am scouting for a mountain route to train on daily.

I will try on the bottom of this hill for another route into the mountains.

This particular route is fraught with obstacles and a steep path of loose soil...

and the mountain is smaller than the one I wish to go up.

Although the other route will be a difficult ride...

it will get me into shape for later mountain rides.

I expect to attack the mountain a little at a time...at first.

Although I will fail many times...

with each attempt...

I shall get stronger.

Although a man must stress himself in order to grow stronger...

he must never go beyond his capability to adapt.

So long as the challenge is taken in small enough bites...

the lesson may be adapted to.

The magic number for any endeavor is 85%.

Any more effort and the recovery will take too long.

Moving at this amount ensures enough intensity...

and allows for a long enough interval of exercise

to ensure the optimum quantity of quality exercise.

This puts you into the flow...

where, although you will be breathing like a locomotive...

the breaths will be deep, relaxed, and diaphragmatic.

This is the amount just below oxygen debt...

where you could go for an hour or more... nonstop.

The new route I will be using will be for almost daily exercise purposes...

and once a week or so (starting in spring)...

I will head into the Sierra Nevada mountain range to do much longer routes.

The key to this...

as well as any other challenge in life...

 is not in how much pain one can take...

but in how much pain one can recover from before the next session.

This is adaptation.

If one feels too tired...

experiences reluctance...

or anything other than exuberation towards the next session...

then the intensity was too high...or the session... too long.

------------------

Life is merely existing without that next mountain to summit.

It is in new horizons that hope is born anew...

that we may grow enough in heart, body, and mind...

to stand atop that next mountain.

It is from the summit that we may reflect upon our lives and see 

how far we had come.

Sunrises and sunsets bring a special significance to my life.

In each sunrise...

I see the future with great hope.

In each sunset...

I reflect upon my life...

and it is in this that I derive a deep sense of serenity.

I am so deeply and serenely happy...

because I don't care what others may think of me.

I know what makes me happy...

and I do it.

No one will be with you in death...

no one will care more about you... than you...as you die.

And so...

why should you care what others may think of you in life?

Freedom lies in saying...

F*** it...

and finally doing what makes you the most happy...

regardless of what others may say or think.

The important thing is setting yourself up in life so you have no worries...

spending time pursuing your creative passions...

and fully enjoying the great simple pleasures of life everyday.

Life is so different if you walk the tightrope without a safety net

(metaphor of knowing there is no afterlife).

You are more focused...

everything has more meaning...

every moment is so much more treasured.

It is precisely because I have never believed in an afterlife...

or any form of religion...

that I have always loved life so much.

I don't live in dread of death...

for it is what gives life its sense of urgency...

what gives time its value...

and what makes each sunset so transcendent.

If you don't experience a great symphonic orchestra

as you feel the vibrant colors of a beautiful sunset...

and as the wind caresses your skin in rhythm across your face...

there is something you need to fix in your life.

Exercise is the key to living life to its fullest.

Recumbent triking allows senior citizens to get a plentiful amount of exercise...

regardless of your present health status.

I first learned of triking when watching an elderly man triking (YouTube)...

and fully enjoying it...

even though he had stage 4 cancer.

He triked almost everyday...

until just before his death.

What an inspiration.

The serenity in his face as he rode...

even through his chemotherapy...

and of his knowledge of his impending death...

told me he knew the value of life...

even in the face of death.

It was after seeing his videos that I decided to get a trike myself.

I had been having problems with my knees after long walks.

However, with triking...

my knees are pain free.

I can now push myself to levels I haven't been able to for years.

----------------------

The only way you may walk through the valley of death without fear or trepidation...

is to know that heaven lies on the other side (metaphorically speaking).

Always...

ALWAYS...

live life with deferred gratification as a priority.

This is how to properly set up and live your life.

You do the work first (metaphor of valley of death...hell)...

but you do so because you know heaven lies on the other side 

(metaphor for pain now for better life later).

This includes exercise.

At first you may not feel comfortable...

but after you feel so good for much longer afterwards...

you start to look forwards to exercise...

and so...

you may walk through the valley of death without fear...

for you know heaven lies on the other side.

-----------------

One of each of our greatest missions in life is to find out 

what makes us serenely happy (creative passion)...

and doing it...

and through exercise...

it will magnify it...

and every other experience in life.

For anyone thinking he or she is too old...

too infirm...

or in too much pain to trike...

you are wrong.

Triking allows even those with MS...

advanced arthritis...

balance issues...

advanced cancer...etc...

to live life much more fully

through the great pleasure magnifier...

that is exercise.