Common Sense and Simpler Times

The weather seems to have broken the past couple of weeks with an increase in sunshine and warmer temperatures which means more riding and potentially more rambling! Due to this turn in the weather I’ve tried to follow the direction of the CDC by avoiding crowds and taking in lots of fresh air by riding, you don’t have to tell me twice.😃

In the midst of all the fear and panic the media and government are trying to create, I choose faith and common sense. While riding common sense is always important and I have come to realize in day to day life, that although it’s important, it is lacking for many people sadly.

I can’t imagine facing the current virus issue or any of life’s storms without faith. It’s what’s gotten me through some of the darkest days of my life. Every time I set out to ride, I say a prayer and put my faith and trust in the one who created me. I also use common sense knowing that it can be more dangerous on 2 wheels than 3 or more. Common sense and experience tell me that if I see an object in the road I want to avoid, I need to look where I want to go, not at the object I want to miss. It also tells me if I’m going around a corner/curve, I need to slow before I get to it, be in the middle of the lane or to my right of the lane, and speed up half way through it. If I am close to the yellow line with my tire, that means my handlebar and mirror are going to be across the yellow line and I could be clipped by an oncoming vehicle. The entire ride requires common sense and a defensive mind set in order to remain aware and safe.

The more I’ve ridden the past couple of weeks especially, the more I have thought about the simpler times and the simple pleasures of life. I’ve thought about the social distancing, the handwashing, and the idea of always being prepared in case we need to not leave our homes. We have become, for the most part, a society of constant face to face connection dependent on others for our needs and desires and totally cosumed with the need for entertainment of some kind. This has not always been the case as history shows us, just as it shows us this is not the first pandemic to cross the globe. We are now learning it’s truly not necessary or healthy to live that way.

As bikers, most of us do the 2 finger wave to each other which is a connection without touching yet is just as meaningful to me as many “touching ” ways of communicating. It’s an unspoken acknowledgment of respect and commoraderie between riders.

We can show that same type of communication with others as well without touching. We can send notes of encouragement and verbally appreciate each other. We can provide acts of kindness that aren’t publicly made known. We can spend time with our families that we are now “quarantined ” with and really connect. In this day of cell phones and tablets and computers, the family has become so disconnected in my opinion.

I’ve seen and heard such grumbling about kids being out of school due to the coronavirus. Whether we agree with the decision or not, this is an opportunity to really get to know our kids and help them to learn life is about more than socializing, sports, dance, and being on the go all the time as well as how to become more self sufficient.

I am very grateful that my parents taught me how to garden and hunt and that my brother taught me to fish. I’m blessed to have had a family that came together to eat dinner as a family and to have been able to talk openly with both of my parents about day to day events and concerns.

I am so thankful I was at home with my boys when they were little. Yes there were days that were stressful but I wouldn’t have changed it for the world. They did not have access to a cell phone until my oldest was 16 years old, and then it was one phone they shared only on the weekend when they were at their dads so we could communicate if we needed to by a phone call. They learned about gardening and played with things that required imagination like Legos, Lincoln logs, and a sand box. They built forts in the woods out of sticks and logs, leaves and mud. They rode bikes and skateboards, learned to swim and went on nature hikes to a nearby creek. Those were simpler days and honestly in light of the state this world is now in, it’s what children today also need to be doing, in my opinion.

They can learn that the real heroes are not sports figures or musicians or actors as all of those events are currently canceled. The heroes instead are the adults in their lives who invest in them and their future and take time to truly listen and have open and meaningful conversations with them. They are the truckers, farmers, and grocery store workers that we all now need.

As social distancing has become necessary, it’s the perfect time to again teach the younger generation to appreciate and enjoy the simple things. My granddaughters absolutely love playing outside in the sandbox at our house, playing with bubbles and chalk, and going for walks looking for bunnies. I’m thankful to see that my oldest and youngest boys (now men) appreciate the every day blessings in life that many take for granted; God, family, and the beauty that surrounds us every day.

Riding the past 2 days especially I’ve personally noticed such amazing signs of Spring and new life. I’ve seen the delicate faces of daffodils, elegant looking tulips, wonderful yellow forsythia, vibrant red buds and dogwoods, as well as stunningly beautiful azaleas in pink, coral, white and deep reds. I’ve seen teenagers skate boarding rather than engrossed in their phones, many adults riding motorcycles and biked and masses of boats out on the water. Many people seem to be enjoying the simpler pleasures of life instead of being constantly plugged in to the TV and other technology that is unfortunately abundantly available. If you aren’t engrossed in the media and internet everything looks normal. Granted these are serious times and we need to be aware of the dangers, but we do not need to allow it to consume us.

If I hadn’t been making time for these multiple rides, I would have missed so much beauty and lacked so much peace. I had one brief time since all of this started where I had a minor “meltdown ” but it soon passed after talking about it and praying. This was truly brief, a matter of only an hour or so, and I had been watching the media, which I rarely do. We were not made to be fearful, we learn that reaction. Look at babies and toddlers, most of them have no real concept of fear.

2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

We need to have faith over fear, embrace each other in prayer and focus on the simple beauties in life. Panic and fear serve no purpose. Enjoy every day to its fullest and take noone for granted. Our lives should reflect our beliefs and values and bring us closer to God and each other.

Be safe and be careful, but don’t be consumed.

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.