While my foot heals I’ve been spending more time on the indoor bike, which gives me a perfect excuse to watch some TV. There’s always a silver lining!
This morning it was a beautiful documentary about McKenzie Barney, who has cycled around much of the world. She talked about freedom, slowing down and the epidemic of busy.
What struck me most though was a different kind of epidemic, down in the comments.
So many adventurers aching to be back on the bike or the trail or the water, so many clearly dissatisfied with whatever was actually happening in their lives right now.
And there I was, pedalling nowhere in my spare room, remembering myself like that too: always longing for something that wasn’t here.
It’s one of the reasons I started meditating.
Not to give up adventure, but because I was tired of chasing the peaks and treating everything in between as the waiting room. I wanted to find completion and fullness wherever I was, whatever the landscape.
I also watched the story of Jeff Lowe, one of the finest climbers of his time, who spent his later years in a wheelchair, barely able to speak. He seemed genuinely at peace with his situation. He called it his new frontier. Not the end of the adventure, but the next one, making his way with whatever he’d been given.
Cool huh?
Longing can point us towards beautiful things. But when it takes over, there’s something wrong. It’s a sign we’re undernourished somewhere deeper, and no next adventure can fill that. The ache really isn’t about the mountain.
So go forth and have the adventures. Just don’t let longing take you away from the life you’ve actually got. Find freedom wherever you find yourself, indoor bike days included.
Go well!
Arjuna