river ride

The first official day of spring break, and what do I decide to do? Not sleep in, certainly! No way! Instead I got up and went on a lovely bike ride on the river! With the sunshine and the feeling of getting out there and doing something, the beauty all around me, I felt so energized and alive! Definitely a great way to start the day :)There were a couple of cool things that happened on my ride that made it even better. As cyclists on the trail, we all generally acknowledge each other as we pass each other going the opposite direction, but generally ignore the 'common' pedestrians. That just seems to be the way that things work. Well today I decided to shake things up a little bit. As I passed walkers or joggers going in the opposite direction I would call out a "good morning!" as I approached.

That was kind of fun all on its own. But there was a pair of older ladies who I happened across, and proceeded to call out my greeting. Their response pretty much made my day :) Their faces, their smiles, as the returned my emphatic "good morning" were priceless. I don't think that they quite expected that out of a quick moving teenager on a bicycle!

And I'm not racist or anything, but for my own safety I do do some amount of 'judging a book by its cover' when it comes to interactions with other people. And so I tend to be a little wary of African Americans, primarily because of the neighborhood in which I live. Today though, I was reminded of something. I was cycling along and hadn't seen anyone for a while, when I passed a rather large African American man cycling the other way. And he beat me to calling out "good morning"! I was probably smiling for the next five miles or so because of it! I may be a little wary of blacks at first, but in all honesty, ones like the man I passed today are some of my most absolute favorite people! Their culture is so rich!

It was just simple incidents like these that helped me to be happy today, energized even! I spent probably a whole half of my twenty mile ride with a genuine smile plastered on my face--it just wouldn't leave!! :) I even discovered how hard it is to laugh when you are doing cardio, to the point of getting the hiccups when I stopped to take some pictures!



Which brings me to another special part of my ride. I was taking pictures again--same trail but different things this time. I really appreciate being able to take the pictures: it helps me to focus on looking for the good and beautiful things in the world out there.






Here's another little story (fully illustrated! ;] ) from today to show what I mean. This afternoon my family and I went to go hike in the Juniper Dune wilderness area, primarily in what is known as the 'Juniper Forest'. Well because it's dunes and sandy, and still pretty early in the year, it is primarily all just sand and sage brush and tumbleweeds and brown grasses. It looks pretty dead and barren.

This is just like life. It is really easy to look out and see just blemishes, a barren wasteland, depressing landscapes, and all that is ugly. But if you choose to really look, to look a little closer, you can see that those same things are beautiful, that there is life growing all around, flourishing and thriving! But it's your choice what to see. My camera is helping me focus a little, that's all. It is me that is choosing to look and see the beautiful things. Besides, it is much more fun this way!

Finally, here is a suggestion to help make someone's day :) Open/hold the door for them! It's that easy! This was challenged to some people I know recently, and they were complaining about how hard it would be. That's absurd! Does it get any easier than that! But don't forget, if someone holds it for you, remember to say "thank you!" :)

"The words 'Please' and 'Thank you' will take you farther in life than any other words"
~Dr. Dave Wells