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Vulnerability

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…

Bravery/ Love & Relationships/ Zesty Adventures

Thus with a kiss I die: The story of love

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Don’t fall in love, fall off your bike—it hurts less

Loving is risky. For the depth of your love today can be the depth of your wound tomorrow.

To love is to be vulnerable. Love anything long enough and your heart will certainly be wrung out and broken. If you want to never experience pain, you must give your heart to no one. Bubble wrap it carefully with hobbies and friends; avoid all entanglements and guard it behind a wall of cold stone. Continue Reading…

Happiness/ Love & Relationships/ Zesty Adventures

Blame Game: It’s not me, it’s my equipment

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Just own it

We’ve all been in this circumstance; setting out on a ride with a friend, you finally reach the trail summit. Aiming your bike down the trail, you send it into the jank. After a short distance you notice your friend stopped, crouched over his bike—blaming his lack of skill on his drivetrain. Maybe you’ve done the same!

When something goes wrong do you immediately want put the fault on something or someone else? Or do you make room for empathy and accountability? 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

Freeing your soul through creativity

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Lose your fear of being not good enough

Remember when you were young and fearless with the crayons or fingerpaints? You were so bold. Some of you even drew all over your walls. As the years passed, you became shy and afraid of getting creative because of the belief you’re not good enough.

It’s a shame that not more of us utilize the therapeutic benefits of art. Art is a way to convey things that words cannot, and it’s a way to heal ourselves. When we’re being creative, our brains release the natural antidepressant, dopamine. Creativity can also can calm our “monkey mind”, bring on a meditative state and get us into flow. Continue Reading…

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…