My mission

To jog-bicycle around the world, climb the mountains, swim the seas and soar the skies. Since they are not remotely possible, I settled for a daily dose of spiritual triathlon -- jogging, cycling and meditation -- necessarily in that order. My idea of a spiritual triathlon is 10 miles of jogging and 10 miles of cycling followed by an hour of meditation. I sincerely feel that not less than a spiritual marathon can tame the mind and mould it the way you want it to. So go ahead and have fun taking a dekko at my spiritual athleticism. But don't forget to drop in a word or two on how you feel about my blog and my way of life. Your advice is always valuable to go that extra length to the Garden of Eden

Food for cycling thought

A Zen Teacher saw five of his students return from the market, riding their bicycles. When they had dismounted, the teacher asked the students, "Why are you riding your bicycles?" The first student replied, "The bicycle is carrying this sack of potatoes. I am glad that I do not have to carry them on my back!" The teacher praised the student, saying, "You are a smart boy. When you grow old, you will not walk hunched over, as I do." The second student replied, "I love to watch the trees and fields pass by as I roll down the path." The teacher commended the student, "Your eyes are open and you see the world." The third student replied, "When I ride my bicycle, I am content to chant, nam myoho renge kyo." The teacher gave praise to the third student, "Your mind will roll with the ease of a newly trued wheel." The fourth student answered, "Riding my bicycle, I live in harmony with all beings." The teacher was pleased and said, "You are riding on the golden path of non-harming." The fifth student replied, "I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle." The teacher went and sat at the feet of the fifth student, and said, "I am your disciple."

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

To go or not to go that's the dilemma

One night, after their owner is asleep, the parts of the body were arguing about which has the toughest job.
“I’ve really got it tough,” moan the feet. “He puts me in these smelly sneakers, makes me jog until I have blisters... it’s awful!”
“You’ve got no reason to complain,” says the stomach. “Just last night, I got nothing but beer, spaghetti and aspirin. It’s a miracle I kept it together.”
“Ah, quit bitching, you two,” moans the prick. “Every night he sticks me up a dark tunnel and makes me do push-ups until I throw up!!”

Don't wait till the body throws up and you end up in an hospital. Get on that bicycle and keep going. Like I did today. I was in the least bit interested in going for a bike ride as I was nursing a bad mood. But somewhere inside me a voice kept saying (ever since I started cycling I have been listening to that inner voice) "Go, go, get on the bicycle, you'll be real good". After a little bit of hesitation, I got on my bike and went on a 40 km ride. The first 10 km was a very slow ride, but after that I picked up pace and zoomed past the traffic till I reached the end of the city. I cooled my heels for a while and got back on my bike and rode past with an air of serenity writ large all over.

A wonderful feeling it was indeed!! So the next time I know that it is better to get on the bike than to keep wrestling with my mind whether to do it or not to do.

Take care and have fun and don't forget to look forward to loads of humour and biking ecstasy

1 comment:

Chris L said...

Hi there, I just came across from the "other" Life cycle. I just wanted to say that I'm really enjoying your writings, keep them coming.