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I think the reason I like biking is because it's all about moving forward, being aware of your surroundings, making your surroundings aware of you, earning your keep as you travel forward, in whatever direction you please. Looking forward, looking around, accepting that sometimes you will swallow a bug, get yelled at by impatient, lead-footed motorists, get sunburnt, exhaust your fuel supply, fall down, hurt yourself. But you always get better, always improve with each pedal forward. Going up a hill, you may curse nature for creating such an obstacle, but your sweat and hard work are rewarded tenfold on the way down, wind in hair, you feel like a demigod floating down to visit mere mortals.
And then, when the roads are flat, you're left to contemplate the issues of today, tomorrow, yesterday...and you feel a profound connection to the world around you, how related we all are. Next thing you know you've traveled twenty, thirty, forty miles, and you've really traveled, you've earned it, and you feel strong. Strong enough to face another day, another mile, another gigantic hill, shaking with the anticipation of gliding down, wind in hair, like a memory of something better than yourself.
Any time I start out on a long ride, the first few miles are filled with doubt and worry. What if I can't make it? What if I'm not strong enough? What if it's too hard? What if I fall? But once my blood gets going, I sweat out all my anxiety and just let go. I just ride. And I remember I can do anything, I am strong enough to overcome any hill, it's all inside and I just have to access it. It gives me the confidence I need to tackle other issues in my life.
Tons and tons of new projects. I know my resolution last year was to be more on top of my e-game, but that fell through, obviously. It's hard for me to spend time on things like photo documenting and writing about my art...because I get so wrapped up in creating it. It consumes me. OH WELL HAHA.
My new year's resolution this year is simple: don't get sick. I'm exercising and taking vitamins and using hand sanitizer. I am taking a holistic approach to health care. If I can't afford it, then I will be my own insurance.
As for my NYR of last year, here's the final verdict, a year later:
1. I did raise my credit score substantially = WIN
2. My student loan debts are under 6k and I paid off my hospital bill = WIN
3. I did train for, but did not participate in, a century (100 miles on a bike) = WIN/FAIL?
4. I did not update my blog very much = FAIL
5. I did have an exhibition in May and it was awesome = WIN
I didn't do it all but I did okay! I'll take it!
The belief that human beings are somehow better, or more important, than everything else in the world is a toxic and illogical way of thinking. To pursue whatever we want to have at whatever the cost isn't just stupid, it's ecologically unsound. When we go out and cut down trees to put down bigger parking lots, or overfish the seas of the world without taking into consideration the damage that might cause to the environment or the local ecology is, in its own right, self-destructive behavior. By putting our immediate needs before the needs of everyone and everything surrounding our decisions, we're cutting off our own legs. Eventually all the consequences of our actions will catch up to us and we'll not only be risking the extinction of species of animals, but also the extinction of humans. You can't fuck with one part of the food chain and not effect everyone else, after all it is a CHAIN. We are all linked together. If it's bad for one person, it's bad for everybody.
