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June 12, 2004
Can't see the forest through the trees
This last week it rained a lot. One morning I rode my bike 13 miles through the rain. Along the way I saw a city worker out mowing the grass along the bike trail, wearing a raincoat. I think he was surprised to see me out there. He stopped driving the mower and stared as I rode by him.
A little later I was riding along the river and someone yelled at me, “Hey!” I turned and looked toward the river and down by the pier were a couple of workers doing something with their tugboats. One had his thumb up in the air, grinning at me. He must have thought I was crazy. Other than that I didn’t see anyone until I arrived downtown. This ride, even in the rain, was great! It felt good. It was not too cold, and I could work a little harder without overheating. I felt really good for doing it and not missing my day of exercise.
I wouldn’t say that it was all pleasurable, because my eyes were stinging with rain and my glasses got all fogged and covered with water. Several times I couldn’t see and once I hit a big pothole that jarred me to the bones. I rode through several deep puddles and drenched my feet from the spray. When I finished I was soaking wet from head to toes. But I was happy. I can’t complain about any of it.
Throughout life we all want and seek happiness. Often we seek happiness in things that bring us pleasure, but it doesn’t last. And where do we draw the line? How much of something is enough to make us happy? Did you ever notice that some people are happy no matter what they are doing? Happiness is a state of being, not an object we can acquire.
All of life is like the forest. When we are deep in the middle of it, it’s sometimes hard to see or visualize the whole forest. All we can see is the trunks of the trees. Happiness is like appreciating the whole forest while walking through it, and then appreciating the trees for being part of it.
When I was riding my bike in the rain, I did not sit there and complain about it. It was too late, haha. I was already wet. My overall goal was still the same and I now had the opportunity to go beyond my previous limits. I discovered earlier that I didn’t melt in the rain, and that It was actually fun, but some days it’s easier to take it easy and stay dry. Last year I would not have biked in the rain at all. This year it doesn’t matter as much. I did it, and now I know I can do more.
It’s easy to give up on life and complain about it too. When I was in college the first time, in 1985, I was a blamer. There was always some reason, some excuse for all of my problems. I could not see the forest through the trees. My life was out of perspective. I got bogged down in the struggles of life because I could not see a bigger picture.
Some things that are helpful to our happiness, are the awareness that we won’t melt in the rain, lifes struggles are temporary, through experience we can surpass our own limits and expectations and our view may be limited until we can see a bigger picture. Don’t get too bogged down in the struggles of life to appreciate the whole of it. It’s all part of life and happiness is a state of being while living it.
Posted by carl1236 at June 12, 2004 9:02 PM
Comments
just like me
Posted by: Roe at September 5, 2006 4:44 PM