meditation Archives - Page 4 of 6 - Scooter in the Sticks

Oppressed by the Past

November 1, 2017 by Scooter in the Sticks 26 Comments

Wandering Through the Woods on a Vespa

Not everything here is about riding. It’s a means to an end. I’m never sure what I’ll discover on the road.

A dozen personal journals found their way to the landfill. Years of thought and complaint vomited on the page. Memories suspended in ink on hundreds of pages of paper. Free now of the weight of their presence.

Riding the Vespa scooter earlier in the day after an appointment with my cardiologist; wandering in mind and body and thinking of the past.

Wondering about the future.

The cool, autumn air keeps me bright and awake as it seeps across my skin. A sure sign of sloppy preparation and attention to detail — typical of early cold season riding.

The doctor swept the past aside as we talked about the future — medication, exercise, diet and lifestyle, the magic mix that increases the odds for healthy years ahead. Only my own thoughts keep me oppressed by the past. In this case — a heart attack.

Those discarded journals had their own power to oppress just as beliefs and assumptions and physical possessions can. It’s easy to become chained and weighed down without even realizing the ponderous load being dragged along. Slowly I’m working to free myself so I can experience more fully what’s right in front of me.

Riding the scooter through the woods is an exercise in simplicity. It expects nothing from me save for the basic skills required to safely operate. In that simple act is the space to observe chains and baggage, and hear the seductive song that softly winds through them. It’s the rare ride where I return home with no education.Continue Reading

Aimless Wandering

October 4, 2017 by Scooter in the Sticks 31 Comments

Wandering Along

The past few weeks have been a collection of exquisite riding weathers — fog, warm days, cool mornings. For many riders it would open the door to long rides and adventure. I wish I could say that’s what I’ve been doing. But I’ve been doing some aimless wandering, on foot and on the Vespa scooter, but it’s not so much about the physical act as it is about engaging the senses. Relishing the perceptions of being out in the world.

I stood for a long time at this railroad crossing gazing at the edge where what’s visible disappeared into the fog. I wasn’t looking for anything; just feeling life flow around and through me.

That’s often the case when I’m riding the scooter.Continue Reading

See the World

May 14, 2017 by Scooter in the Sticks 18 Comments

Road of Life

The ride is not always the end in itself. Sometimes it’s an excuse for something else. For me, that excuse is a desire to see the world.

After a day at work, or in some situation where I’m cut off from “the world”, I feel the pull to get out and away and experience the thrum and sound of the places and people who I share this space. The Vespa scooter as it winds it’s way along roads and through towns, the places it delivers me to drink tea and watch the people around me, it is the perfect tool to serve up a dose of the world.

The rain moved out of the valley by the end of the day and the long light as the sun neared the horizon painted a dazzling portrait. Riding the scooter along the rural roads near home entertained the senses — the sweet smells of flowers and grass, the sound of birds lost in twitterpation at the end of a day, and the mesmerizing scenes that unfold mile after mile.Continue Reading

Restorative Powers of Scooter Riding – or Motorcycles

April 13, 2017 by Scooter in the Sticks 54 Comments

Portrait of Vespa scooter rider Steve Williams reflected in mirror

Canon G15 6.1mm 1/1000 @ f2.8 ISO 100

Riding Reflections

This will be a short post. It’s premise and conclusions obvious to many who already ride a scooter or motorcycle. To others, and perhaps most of those men and women who are thinking about riding, the idea that riding has any sort of powers or rewards beyond transportation or recreation may not even register in their thinking.

I don’t want to preach. I’ve long ago understood that what I believe, the actions and approaches that work for me, may be utterly useless for others. We each walk (or ride) our own path and come to understand and embrace what we will regardless of what others accept or reject.Continue Reading

Ride More, Worry Less

March 9, 2017 by Scooter in the Sticks 25 Comments

Riding Realizations

Riding alone provides extended opportunities to think. It’s one of the unlooked for benefits of riding that partially fuels my year round riding. That thinking serves to clear out the noise and cobwebs that collect between my ears on a minute by minute, hour by hour basis and can lead to a wonderful variety of concerns, frustrations and generally annoying states of mind.

Spending time on the Vespa is good medicine for the mind. That prescription provides relief that can be described in four simple words — ride more, worry less.

Comfortably reclined in my first class easy chair this evening, I spend some time inspecting those words. I’m generally skeptical of slogans and other textual pablum that infests the interwebs. But this one, it works. So off I went to create a graphic reminder of the discovery I’m sure has already been made by thousands of other riders. To non-riders still grinding their teeth in the comfort of their SUVs, or talking to the terribly under-skilled drivers in other vehicles, I can only suggest their is a path available to improve your mental wellbeing that doesn’t involve Pilates, yoga, therapy or drugs. It merely calls upon you to step away from the maddening crowd and say you’ve had enough.

That and a scooter or motorcycle.