Life On A B-I7

First Steps

The preparations are beginning! I did my first training ride yesterday. It was short but it felt good to get back on the bike. The Davidson without panniers is a real thoroughbred.

Yesterday I downloaded the Northern Tier digital map set from the ACA. I’ll be loading that into Komoot so I can sync it into my COROS app and watch. My plan is to use these preparation pages to layout a detailed schedule for the tour. I’m planning to begin the ride in Anacortes Washington on June 1st and end in Bar Harbor Maine, some 4,300 miles and 90 days of adventure touring by bicycle.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 134

Here’s some of the best Stoic advice I think I’ve read so far. I can get behind this. Don’t expect perfection. The keyword there is “expect.”

This morning I took apart one of my favorite framed pictures. I wanted to put a label behind the glass describing where the picture was taken and when. I accomplished that easily. After I was finished and the picture was reassembled and rehung, I noticed that the label I had placed on the mat in the lower portion of the frame wasn’t perfectly straight. At first I thought about taking it apart and placing a new label under the glass, then I realized it was good enough. Not perfect, but good enough. Would other people notice? As soon as I realized that wasn’t likely, I settled down and made the conscious decision to call my efforts satisfactory.

The bottom line: Don’t let petty annoyances distract us from what we should be doing… The world is not perfect. Do what we can to make it better, but at the same time, don’t obsess over every little thing.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 133

“We must not get so wrapped up in our work that we are immune from the reality of aging and life.”

If you are a public servant it is on you to know when to step out of the spotlight and retire. Sadly, many people in public service have no concept of this principle. I can think of many examples, I’m sure you can too. I’m also sure we are both right.

As I was writing this, my cat came and sat by my side as if to remind me what is most important, namely, taking care of those around us that need us. That extends to the responsibility held by public servants as well as us ordinary folk.

Experiences

Calm doesn’t come from controlling your experiences. Calm comes from allowing your experiences to unfold how they may.

I’ll be the first to admit this is not easy for me. I recognize the wisdom in this. I’m working on incorporating this philosophy into my consciousness. I think it would make a good mantra.

Today I will allow my experiences to unfold on their own path rather than try to bend them to my will.

Kindness

When you choose kindness you are protecting yourself. No one can take that away from you. Your path is life is what you choose it. Make it a path that is controlled by you and no one else. Make it a path that is guided by kindness.

Anger

There is too much anger in the world. We all need to take a deep breath, exhale slowly through our nose, and think about what it is we are trying to accomplish. Our anger will only make us and those around us sick.

Writing

“Writing is both a craft and an art: a practical skill that can be taught and refined, and a creative practice through which sustained effort yields insight. The formula goes something like this: We read things, we have conversations about them to unravel their many levels, then we write. In that final part of the cycle—the writing part—are torments, perhaps even tortures, but good things happen. We become thinking people, mingling with complex ideas and perhaps coming up with some of our own.”

I stumbled into this piece by Jake Lundberg, a staff writer at The Atlantic. This pretty much describes what I do, for fun, here. He raises an interesting question in his piece. Will AI and Chatbots make the practice of writing irrelevant? Lundberg postulates that writing is vital to the formation of an educated mind. In my case, the writing I do is not vital to the formation of my mind, it’s more for the preservation of it. That’s another story. It does seem though that writing, for the sake of writing, is rapidly becoming a thing of the past.

I’m not about to declare writing dead. I love it and it serves an essential purpose in my life. When I can’t write any longer, I’ll have someone use a chatbot for me. It shouldn’t be hard to find a volunteer to do that. That won’t be a huge ask I’m sure. For the record, I don’t use one here and never have.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 132

Real joy takes work. To dismiss the woes of the world to be cheerful is good but to feel joy, the dismissal must be done with proper intention or sadness can result. True joy takes cultivation. Living with purpose, living with excellence, living with an understanding of your duty, that is the cultivation of true joy. That is the joy that surpasses cheerfulness. The beauty of following this path is that others will see that as an inspiration.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 131

There is philosophy, and there is the practice of philosophy. Study can lead to understanding. Practice can lead to a better self. It is essential that one do both.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 130

We are advised by the Stoics to be understanding and patient with other people. The person we are dealing with may not have grown up with the same advantages that we have. The more tolerant and patient we can be, the more helpful we can be. Isn’t that our true responsibility? I admit to failing at this goal more often than I would like to admit. The goal is to keep trying. My desire for myself and for my country is to keep striving in this direction. It begins with our speech and it extends to making sure those we choose to lead us also are also striving in this direction.

Sucked in Again

I got sucked into Substack again. I know better. At some point I’m going to have to remove that app from my phone. But today was another lesson in restraint. Believe it or not, I’m getting better at restraint even though today’s events wouldn’t necessarily lead you to that conclusion… Someone wrote a long piece about Trump’s speech today on the subject of Black History Month. The gist of the piece was that Trump talked about himself instead of about Black History Month. The speech was given before an assembly of black leaders and dignitaries. Oh well, nothing new here really. What was interesting were the replies on Substack. One person in particular was critical of anyone taking exception to Trump’s behavior. That person accused anyone that did not agree with him as having “TDS.” (Trump Derangement Syndrome.) Okay, I probably qualify as deranged, deranged about a lot of things. When it comes to skiing and cycling, I’m pretty deranged, I also have a tendency to be very particular about my bourbon, probably to the point of derangement, but I think when it comes to political analysis, I’m looking through a pretty clear set of lenses. Sorry, I digress. Getting back to the subject at hand, Substack posts, I had to chime in. Against my better judgement I replied. Before I tell you what I said, take note that when I post on Substack (the very few times I have) the posts show under my name “Brad Adkins.” Most posts are written by people who use pseudonyms rather than their real names. That’s the world we live in to be sure. That said said, I replied:

I don’t wear a mask and I use my real name. I prefer to think of myself as having TDNS rather than TDS.

If you look up TDNS you won’t find any references, I made it up. So for your edification I’ll spell it out, and I mean this in the kindest possible sense. TDNS stands for “Trump Does Nothing Syndrome.” That’s a bit of an understatement, I should have said, TDNTMAGAS.

My 401K Is Up

Your 401K might be up, but at what cost?

Is it worth it to be told Obama Care is bad and a better replacement is coming… and you’ve been hearing that for 9 years?

Is it worth it when the press and television are being censored at the insistence of the President of the United States?

Is it worth it when your First Amendment rights are being trampled?

Is it worth it to have a para-military organization deployed to American cities and the National Guard Federalized to provide immigration enforcement?

Is it worth it to have American citizens harassed and detained without a warrant?

Is it worth it to have American citizens murdered by agents of the federal government?

Is it worth it when you have a president that has more time for selling his personalized merchandise than he has for working on legislation to fix the problems he complains about on a daily basis?

Is it worth it to support a political party that does nothing else but provide financial enrichment to America’s most wealthy business people?

Is it worth it to support a political party that blames the opposition for every woe they can contrive with no solution other than saying the we alone can fix it?

And consider this if you will, what evidence do you have that says your 401K would not have done as well, or even better, if you had voted differently? There is more to life than money. Sometimes we need to make choices that will help our brothers and sisters, even if it means we won’t profit quite as much from the stock market as we might have hoped.

The Power of a Mantra

The word mantra in Sanskrit means “sacred utterance.” Using a mantra is settling and can provide the ability to focus on what we need to move forward. It can also block what is working against us. In short, it can give us a path to clarity.

Healthy Elixers

These recipes are good for heart, organs, and brain.

Drink this in the morning

Boil for 10 minutes

• 1 cup Water
• 1 Beet Root washed, chopped
• 1 slice Ginger
• Juice of 1 Lemon

Drink this in the evening

Boil for 10 minutes

• 1 cup Water
• 1 Green Apple washed, chopped
• 1 stick Cinnamon
• 3 Tbsp Tumeric

I Feel Better Today

I went to whitehouse.gov and submitted the following on the contact form there:

“I have voted Republican in the past. I do not approve of the immigration enforcement tactics or policy as currently managed by President Trump and his appointees, including Kristi Noem. I believe the current operations of ICE are unconstitutional and criminal. I’m writing to ask you to cease and desist all ICE operations immediately and apologize to the American people for the harm you have done to America: Harm to her own people and harm to our country’s reputation as viewed by citizens of other countries around the world.”

I had to acknowledge the following disclaimer:

These messages are being captured and archived in compliance with the Presidential Records Act or the Federal Records Act.

Not only has President Trump documented my personal opinion as an official presidential record, if there is any confusion about how I feel, he can always look here to resolve any doubt he may have. That made me feel better too.

As a reward for reaching out, I received a text containing contact information. The photo of the President can best be described as a mugshot. (That could be considered wishful thinking I suppose.) It probably came straight out of his “Mugshot Trading Card” collection that he has proudly hawked as part of his personal profiteering efforts.

Types of People

Einstein once said:

Weak people seek revenge.
Strong people forgive.
Intelligent people ignore.

I recently got into a discussion on Facebook over a post. I received a message from someone that was upset by what I had said. I responded by trying to explain why their position was wrong. The conversation did not go well. I then responded and told the person I loved them anyway. The conversation ended when the person responded again, I choose to delete that response without reading it.

I guess that means I’m weak and strong and intelligent…

There is one more lesson in this story, there is no arguing with stupid people… For the record, that last sentence probably means I’m weak despite my best efforts to pretend otherwise.

Living With intention

Here are, in a few words, are some guidelines for living. There are many ways to live with intention. Our job is to find the ways that work best for us. Living with intention frees us to experience the things in life that are beautiful, and dismiss those things that are distractions. Keep these things in mind throughout the day.

1. The best breakfast is no breakfast.
2. Do not speak negatively about yourself.
3. You are needed by someone.
4. You will find peace in stillness.
5. Keep your thoughts private unless there is a purpose in sharing them.
6. Eat two meals a day, eight hours apart.
7. Drink water.
8. Avoid snacks.
9. Shower at night instead of in the morning.
10. Exercise.

Moral Crisis

There is a moral crisis in American. Nothing else can explain why 77 million Americans voted for Donald Trump. If you tell me it’s because his leadership is the reason why your 401K is doing well, I rest my case.

Cats

Cats are Buddhist Monks in disguise.

Living With Intention

Here are, in a few words, are some guidelines for living. There are many ways to live with intention. Our job is to find the ways that work best for us. Living with intention frees us to experience the things in life that are beautiful, and dismiss those things that are distractions. Practice these things upon waking and when retiring at night.

When you wake in the morning, say to yourself:

1. I have control of how the day will unfold and how I will perceive it.
2. What is my goal for today, and what actions will that goal require.
3. I will accept those things that fall outside of my control.

Before lying down to sleep at night, say to youself:

1. Nothing is required of me. The day is complete.
2. I am safe in this moment.
3. I allow my body to let go which gives my mind permission to follow.

Worry

Thank you “Daily Buddhist.”

Noise

Life is bigger than the loudest thing in the room. Constant immersion in the latest news will lead us away from peace, caring, and love.

Life

Sports can often be viewed a metaphor for life. Sometimes you have to pass the ball back in order to move it forward. I apologize for my bad passes.

Weakness or Strength?

Sadly, I can’t smoke pot. I can’t inhale anything that is not clear of particulates. This makes me weak. An anomaly. I admit that. Someone relegated to the chromosomal scrap-heap of history. But perhaps, just perhaps, that gives me an advantage. Perhaps that forces me to think more reflectively. I ask you to consider my words. I don’t care who you are. If you consider, even minimally, my thoughts, I am humbled. (Of course, the less you’ve smoked when you do so the better…)

Remembering Alex Pretti

A poem by National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman.

We wake with no words,
just woe & wound.
Our own country shooting us in the back
is not just brutality; it’s jarring betrayal;
not enforcement, but execution.
A message: Love your people & you will die.
Yet our greatest threat isn’t the outsiders among us,
but those among us who never look within.
Fear not those without papers,
but those without conscience.
Know that to care intensively, united,
is to carry both pain-dark horror for today
& a profound, daring hope for tomorrow.
We can feel we have nothing to give,
& still believe this world waiting,
trembling to change.
If we cannot find words, may we find the will;
if we ever lose hope,
may we never lose our humanity.
The only undying thing is mercy,
the courage to open ourselves like doors,
hug our neighbor, & save one more bright, impossible life.

This poem brings tears to my eyes.

The execution of an American citizen legally carrying and disarmed before he was shot 10 times in the back while being restrained without resisting should be enough for any American, Christian Nationalist or Goth Tattooed Barber, to say enough is enough. The President of the United States is a bigoted, narcissistic, megalomaniac. If you follow him, you need to ask yourself, is this really the teaching Jesus would have me follow? (Or, if you don’t believe in Jesus, how about any decent human being?)