It’s all in the
breaks
I’ve come to realize as I approach my 4th decade
of life that it’s what happens in between events where life actually exists. As
an avid cyclist and a newly hooked trail runner, I find myself taking breaks
just to find the in betweens. I find myself gazing more at the water in the bay
and the sun rise over the ocean. I imagine
I’m in a valley and the bay is a retaining lake at the base of the million years
of geological evolution we call mountains or watching the sun rise over the spectacular
Rocky Mountains.
Now don’t get me wrong. I love the feel of the wind as I crush
a trail that has bested me in the past or the sensation of my body working as
if all cylinders are firing together. There
are few experiences where you find yourself in full motion meditation. Where all else in life is pushed to the side
and you are totally focused on the trail underfoot or tire. But the best
moments of my day – my favorite moments – are the ones that happen between all
the others. When the pounding of my
heart and the labor of my breath quiets and I come to rest just to the side of
the trail.
Turns out, the best part of the ride or run is the time I spend
not riding or running at all. In a place between the hammering of the legs and poignant
end of the day there exists the pimple perfection of a mid-workout break. Where the view it spectacular and uninterrupted
and I can take time to look in between the events of life.
Since my first breaks along the trails I have been fortunate
enough to travel to places where the mountains touch the sky and the lakes
reflect the landscape around them. And when I was old enough to realize the enormity
of the beauty of that first mountain top I saw, I remembered the bay and the
sun and the invisible mountain tops I had seen in my head.
Some breaks are as much a part of the ride or run as the
trail itself, occasionally obscuring the rest of the experience. One of my
favorite stops is a bench that sits on a small rock outcropping just off the
trail. It’s here that I can sit and slow
it all down, if only for a moment.
I nod and smile as runners and riders pass me as I sit on my
favorite bench looking out at the bay. On thoughtful days I’ll see the same
ones on their second loop as I sit on my look-out bench. The bench placed by other hikers, riders,
joggers or another person just looking for a good place to rest. I sit on the bench to appreciate what life has
given me thus far. I’m thankful and
grateful for my life. It’s the moments between the all the running that I feel
like I’m finally living life to the fullest, if only for a short while at a
time.
As much as I want to take off riding or running down that
trail head and enjoy the challenge that it provides, I know that life is too
short to spend it racing from here to there to somewhere more important. If I don’t hold on these moments right here
and right now, the ride might be over before I get another chance. And so I sit a little longer watching the beauty
of the Bay from my little bench, taking in all of life’s insignificant striking
little details.
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