Tag: Wisdom

1001, 1002, 1003

Originally posted to the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge Blogspot on May 6th, 2015.

The time it took for you to read the title of this blog, roughly 3 seconds, is all the time needed to lose your life. A couple of years ago I was in Rapid City, SD headed to Hot Springs to visit with Jim & Beth of Hoka Hey fame and was setting at an intersection waiting for the light to turn green. A rider passed through the intersection and he looked toward me and nodded his head as to say, “Hey, how’s it going?” That was all the time needed for the car in front of him to stop and he rode into the back of the car.

All it took was a brief second of distraction…

His injuries were minimal, but the bike needed to go to the shop for repair. While waiting on the police to show up we talked and I learned he was a rider with years of experience and this was his first mishap. The split second it took for him to look at me was all the time it took for the convergence of unfortunate circumstances to meld together and result in an accident.

Riding is risky business and we, as riders, are responsible for reducing that risk as best we can. Most assuredly during those years of riding he had, as we all have, allowed his attention to be diverted for a second or two while acknowledging someone while riding or take a few extra seconds to look at the scenic view to the left or right. But, in previous instances other variables did not enter into the mix, like the car stopping unexpectedly or a deer dashing out to get to the other side of the highway.

We rely on our riding skill and experience to stay between the ditches and to keep the shiny side up while we ride. These are important for sure, but I think attitude and focused attention are more important. Call me rude if you like, but I will never wave at an oncoming rider while I’m in city traffic. I assume every car within 100 feet of me is ready to implement a well-developed plan to run me down and then take a selfie over my lifeless body. We have all had close calls with cagers and the only reason we lived through it was because we were 100% focused on the task at hand and evaded the assault. What happens when that “close call” presents itself during that short span of seconds when we are momentarily distracted by some inconsequential thing?

Stay focused, stay alert and always ride as if everyone is out to get you. It’s a strong bet they are indeed looking for an opportunity for the perfect selfie and your lifeless body would make a fine backdrop. Don’t give them the opportunity.

2015-05-08
Honesty, Integrity, Generosity and Compassion

These are four attributes many claim to have, but, if all were revealed, may not be the case. It is easy to give “lip service” to these and, unless someone sees what you do when no one is looking, many may believe what you say and take you at face value. Action—action gives evidence when words die away. Do we claim honesty, but bend a little on taxes? Do we claim integrity, but work diligently only when the boss is looking? Do we do only what is asked and see no reason to go an extra step because there is nothing in it for us personally? Do we claim generosity and compassion, but turn a blind eye to the plight of others within arm’s reach?

We can say what we want. We can lay claim to all these favorable attributes and toot our own horn, but without actions as proof our words mean nothing—perhaps, if that is the case, our lives means nothing as well. If, by our actions (not our words) others label us with these attributes then it may be we are on the right path.

Do those who truly possess these attributes fall short of the text-book definition of them? Absolutely—we all have good days and bad days. Don’t let a missed opportunity lay waste to your intent. If you miss a chance to display one of these attributes, then try again. The only time we truly fail is when we stop trying.

If we took all of our good deeds and put them on the left side of a scale and put all our bad deeds on the right side of the scale, the scale would not only tip right, but would violently roll off the right side of the table and land on the family pet. Fortunate for us, the Almighty does not grade us by our deeds, but rather sees our heart and from that vantage point, rallied together with a heaping portion of His grace, sees our worth.

Honesty, integrity, generosity and compassion should be what we strive for. Will we always succeed? Most assuredly not, but we should not let a repeated failure defines us or dissuade us from trying as many times as it takes.

2015-04-07
To Be Or Not To Be… …what?

If you have been reading my blog you probably know I wrote a book. “Solitary – Without the Confinement.” The book went public on the 30^th of January. According to the publisher (one I am quickly losing faith in—but that’s another story) the book will eventually find its way to the shelf’s of major book outlet stores like Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million—as well as others. When I first approached the publisher about my book one of their questions was, “What type of book is it?” Meaning is it a documentary, adventure, fiction… I could not really answer their question.

They told me they would assign a “genre” when it got close to the publication date. Imagine my surprise when they categorized it as a “philosophy” book. If you know me personally then I am sure that makes you laugh as you know I am no philosopher. In fact I needed to let spell-check provide the correct spelling of philosopher.

I rolled with it in the beginning as I really didn’t think it mattered all that much, but now I think it may be a problem when it comes to book sales. I mainly wrote the book for the hard-core rider as I think only the hard-core rider will fully understand the premise of the intent. Therein lies my dilemma. First, no hard-core rider is going to go to the philosophy section of a book store to look for a book. That is not to say a rider lacks the ability to understand philosophy—I think a rider may understand it more than most. The difference is a rider (especially a hard-core rider) does not learn philosophy from a book—they learn it through life events while traveling the road less travelled. A true philosopher (by that I mean a book taught self-proclaimed philosophy guru) will buy a book and learn from reading; or rather think they learn from reading. A self-proclaimed philosopher cannot conceive of building a philosophical base from the saddle of an iron horse.

I submit building a philosophical base from the saddle of an iron horse is one of the best way to learn life’s lessons.

So, what does all that mean? I have no idea because I am not a philosopher. In fact, I’m not really sure what a philosopher is. What do they do? Is it a full time job, do they get a paycheck for their efforts?

Some will buy the book and enjoy what is between the first and last page and others will not understand. I think, I don’t know for sure, but I think if you read it and do not understand at least a little then maybe there is something missing—something you need to try and find. Of course there is the opinion that I’m a lousy writer and the thing missing is writing skill.

Not sure why I wrote this blog. It really has no point to it. If I were a philosopher I could write pages and pages on the purpose of a point and the lack thereof. But I’m not, so I won’t. When a philosopher speaks all stop to listen. When I speak people look at me funny and start to giggle. It’s true I can speak to a bunch of dogs and get their undivided attention… but that might have something to do with the bacon I carry around in my pocket.

I was going to add some quotes from famous philosophers but had no idea what they were talking about. I was afraid someone might ask me what their quotes meant which, if I tried to explain, would result in the suspicion of my lack of intelligence being removed and replaced with an assurance.

2015-03-12
Major Milestone in Life

Tomorrow (February 27^th) I turn 60 years old. I’m told that is a milestone. A milestone tells you where you are in relation to where you want to be or where you have come from. At the age of 20 (just prior to another milestone, which I’m told is age 21) I had already spent 3 years in the military and had no clue what I would do with my life. I never expected, based on how my life was at the time, to reach the next milestone—that being the age of 30.

Obviously I reach the 30 year mark and must say the span of the 30 years between then and now went way too fast. Given the facts I know now I would have to admit I have wasted much of my 60 years on things that were important at the time, but now mean little if anything. It’s a shame we are not born with wisdom.

A few days ago I was at a restaurant and learned our waitress had just turned 18 years old. I complemented her (and envied her) that her adventure was just beginning. Her response was, “yea, that’s what I’ve been told” and her tone led me to believe her attitude toward my comment was dubious at best. I thought of trying to enlighten her with the wisdom I had learned that life as a high school teenager is no comparison to what life will be and what your life will be is based on what you do and how you go about doing it—truly her adventure is just beginning. I decided to keep quiet as I recall as a teenager other super old people telling me the same thing and it did nothing but irritate me—how could they possibly know anything about it. I’m not so sure wisdom can be shared. You can try and share it and perhaps some take root, but I think it depends on the recipient. The vast majority of acquired wisdom comes from experience. What’s that old saying” “Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment” or something like that.

Mistakes, regrets, errors and missed opportunities plague my past. All these infractions are what gives us wisdom—so long as we realize our mistake and learn from them so that the next time the opportunity presents itself you do not add to your list of regrets.

Tomorrow I turn 60. Not sure what that means because it is not like there is a significant change in who I am. However, if, on the day I turn 60 I am able to adequately apply some of the wisdom I have gained over the past 59 years then it will be a good day.

I’ve gained all this wisdom, but too tired to use it.

2015-02-26