Browsing Tag:

Resilience

Bravery/ Perseverance/ Wellness/ Zesty Adventures

Clean Line: The Trail to Recovery

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The trail to recovery

Deciding to ride the trail means you’re going to face many obstacles, and no matter how much you avert your gaze from the steep rock slab and slippery roots, they’re always there. Similarly, you can go through life trying to drown your pain in addictions, but it’s always there—floating around deep inside.

As in every path, you can only get to your destination by moving forward, one obstacle at a time. The fear of failure and facing the unknown stops many people from progressing, but your inner terrain must be traversed in the journey to recovery.

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Bravery/ Love & Relationships/ MTB/ Zesty Adventures

FEAR: Face Everything And Ride

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Racing Heart. Shortness of Breath. Butterflies.

Peddling up Mt. Fromme on our twin Santa Cruz Bronson’s, my friend Craig is taking me to Upper Oil Can bike trail. He tells me I’m ready to tackle some technical woodwork. I’m so excited to face the severe danger looming on the horizon!…or maybe what I feel is anxiety and I shouldn’t do this today—it’s so hard to tell the difference between emotions sometimes. Anxiety and excitement are completely different emotions, one positive, one negative—but are they different, really? Continue Reading…

Flow/ Happiness/ Love & Relationships/ Zesty Adventures

Zesty Sidekick: Life lessons from my furry friend

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A girls best friend

I sat on the floor gazing out the window as a tear rolled down my cheek. Suddenly Kula perked up from her plushy pillow and wiggled across the hardwood to give me a slurpy lick; and then two, three, four, until I couldn’t help but smile.

I’m not sure how I got so lucky to have been graced by the presence of this extraordinary dog, but I’m grateful every day. Kula is two-and-a-half-years-old now, a red fox lab with an insatiable passion for mountain biking—kinda like me. Maybe it’s cliche, but my dog truly is my best friend. She’s my riding sidekick, snuggle buddy, sous chef, and she’s always there for me. I believe we can learn a lot from dogs, they teach us about gratitude, love, friendship, compassion, presence and joy. Continue Reading…

Flow/ Happiness/ Love & Relationships/ Zesty Adventures

Abundance: Relax to Receive

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Adopt the pace of nature

Riding down the trail with a white-knuckle death grip will do nothing but cause you to fatigue sooner, make it harder to control and absorb bumps and increase your chances of a crash. This is especially common with new riders; they’re nervous of how the bike is moving underneath them—they either freak out or force it. It’s important to realize that the bike will naturally cruise forward, roll over things and find a smooth line. The trick is to have a little faith, relax and allow the bike do its thing. Continue Reading…

Bravery/ Perseverance/ Zesty Adventures

Intestinal Fortitude: Staying strong when mother nature gives you a spanking

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The sting of injury

Being able to ride my bike regularly has saved me. I’m sure many of you can relate to the way biking declutters the mind and takes the edge off life’s struggles. I don’t know what I’d do without biking.

…and then mother nature gives you a major spanking!

As mother nature banishes you to your room for six weeks with an injury, the news of a long road to recovery can leave you feeling raw and disconnected from the world. Your mind shifts from problem to problem and from past to future, and the fears begin to overwhelm you. You’re consumed in the uncertainty, you feel lost, unsure and powerless. This cycle of thinking is the pathway to endless exhaustion, constant frustration and absolute illusion. Continue Reading…

Bravery/ Love & Relationships/ Meaning & Passion/ Zesty Adventures

Riding the wave of time

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How well are you riding the wave

The space that does not yet exist is located in a place known only to your deeper senses. In life you’ll always receive that which is scheduled for you, but not yet present. Our lives are continually in motion with the wave of time. As the wave rises and falls, our effort responds to the waves of time.

When you learn to ride the wave, your life can evolve naturally and with minimal resistance. Riding the wave, however, is not a passive experience. It requires you to be focused, centered and intuitive.

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Bravery/ Love & Relationships/ Meaning & Passion/ Perseverance/ Zesty Adventures

The Trail of Impermanence

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The Noble Path

Trees lose their leaves, sunshine turns to rain, trails break down and your favourite features shift from one to another as your riding ability improves—impermanence is an undeniable and inescapable fact of human existence.

Buddha stated that in this world nothing is fixed or permanent. Nothing remains the same—human life, trees, mountains, streams, thoughts, feelings, perceptions and emotions. And part of the suffering we experience in life is because of our attachment to impermanent things. We mistakenly believe these impermanent things like people, relationships, careers and circumstances are what make us suffer. It’s not impermanence that makes us suffer, it’s wanting things to be permanent when they are not. Continue Reading…