Zen and the Art of Not Growing Up

Reflecting on childhood experiences on a mini bike reveals that Mindfulness isn't complicated.  It's about being fully present in the moment just like an 11-year-old on a tiny motorcycle. Today, we explore how motorcycle riding creates the perfect conditions for Mindfulness through sensory engagement and gratitude.

Episode Transcript

Ron (00:08):
I was just a kid, 11 years old, and as I look back today, I
am absolutely positive that Iexperienced what so many of us
adults are still trying toachieve.
Maybe it's because I was soyoung.
I wasn't carrying any loads atall, I had no weight of

(00:30):
responsibilities on my shoulders.
I've just come to realize thatI was actually practicing
mindfulness as a little kid, ona little red mini bike.
Now it may not be thedefinition that you're thinking
of mindfulness, but for me it isMore often than not.

(00:55):
When I'm out riding alone on acountry road, I return to my
11-year-old self on a tinymotorcycle.
It's all in my mind, of course,but then again, is it Today?
We'll talk for a short while,but then we'll go for a ride.

(01:18):
Yeah, you and I need a ride.
Are we going to play mind games?
Maybe, but then again, what'swrong with that?
Thank you for joining me today.
Hold on tight.
Recorded in beautiful Loveland,colorado.

(01:41):
Welcome to Peace, love Moto thepodcast for motorcyclists
seeking that peaceful, easyfeeling as we cruise through
this life together.
Are you ready?
Let's go.

(02:09):
I've spent most of my career incorporate America.
This was a travel week for me.
I flew out from Denver toDallas at the beginning of the
business week.
It was a relatively slow weekmeeting-wise, but while in
Dallas, I had the opportunity tovisit with a couple of new
colleagues who I've met at ourcorporate site out there, both

(02:38):
young men who are active in thecorporate world, just as I have
been for the past 30 plus years,and although the travel is
quite difficult for me, bothmentally and physically yeah,
it's exhausting.
I do appreciate, though, and Ilook forward to the
opportunities to talk with youngpeople in our company who are

(02:58):
walking through the same careerdoors that I walked through so
many years ago right out ofcollege.
So I love the opportunity totalk with these young
professionals and I'm trying tobe a listening ear and give some
advice when I can, and, assomeone once told me, just do no

(03:18):
harm.
So I try to listen, get someadvice and do no harm.
But here's where it gets trickyin those conversations for me,
as you know, listening to thispodcast, you're well aware that
what brings relief to me relieffrom the stresses of work,
relief from the endless 24-hournews cycles and social media and

(03:41):
, you know, stresses of lifewhat brings me calm is knowing
that when I get home like inthis case, when I'm traveling.
As soon as I can get to mymotorcycle, if weather permits,
I'm going for a ride.
So I say these conversationsget a little bit tricky in the
Dallas-Fort Worth area becausethese days there's not much

(04:03):
country left out there to ridein.
Riding a motorcycle just aboutanywhere in any metropolitan
area is somewhat deadly, giventhe traffic and attitudes that
some people sometimes write.
I wouldn't do it for anythingthese days.
So I can't necessarily sharewith these young professionals

(04:27):
how I deal with stress myself,which is kind of sad because
what I do tell them anyway, asan alternative to motorcycle
riding, find something that youcan just pour yourself into,
something meaningful, somethingthat has nothing to do with

(04:48):
computers, I hope, becauseyou're in front of a computer
all day long.
You need to get away from thatthing, but rather go and enjoy
yourself doing something, pourinto yourself some happiness
with no guilt, knowing that whatyou're doing for yourself
you're also doing for yourspouse, your family and so forth

(05:10):
.
It makes you a better person.
If all goes well, you'll comehome from whatever you do a
better person, and that's myhope for myself when I go for a
motorcycle ride, when my wifeunderstands that I just need to
go out for a ride every once ina while.
Quite often she knows that I'mgoing to come back more relaxed

(05:34):
and, hopefully, a better person.
So that's what I try to sharewith these young people.
As I got back home from thatDallas trip the very next day,

(05:54):
as quickly as I could I got onmy motorcycle and I went for a
ride in the country.
It's very hard to describe thatfeeling, isn't it?
The easiest way I can say, andI guess the most direct thing to
say about riding a motorcyclefor me is it makes me really
happy.
I feel very focused, yetrelaxed.

(06:15):
I guess most importantlybetween us, I just feel really
grateful.
I just feel so grateful for theopportunity to ride out here
where I live.
I'm just overwhelmed withgratitude.
If I'm doing anything right,I'm remembering to say thank you
.
So many of us know that feelingright.

(06:39):
The wind, the sound of theengine, the open road stretching
out in front of us it'swonderful, isn't it Just
grasping this mindfulness thing,though on a motorcycle, or
doing anything for that matter,that mindfulness thing can
really be a mystery, buthonestly, I think we're

(07:01):
overthinking it.
And, just as I mentioned in thebeginning.
What does an 11-year-old on aminibike know about mindfulness?
Well, I think he knew a lot.
I think I knew a whole lotabout mindfulness.
I just didn't call it that.
Just didn't call it that.

(07:27):
Maybe I referred to it orthought of it as zoning out when
I was out on the rides on thosecountry roads, out in back of
our house.
But yeah, you know, I don'tthink I was zoning out at all, I
think I was zoning in and maybethat's mindfulness.
Well, we've been talking awhile, but I'm ready to go for a

(07:55):
ride, Are you?
Yeah, hey, it may be virtualright now, but I'm going to do
my best to go back to my11-year-old self how I felt
Before I even understood theconcept of responsibility.
Maybe those were really, reallygood days.

(08:16):
Let's go back there together.
While you observe the road ahead, you start to notice the
details, the changing landscape,the cloud formations, the

(08:46):
colors.
You just don't see.
You really observe it, feellike you're a part of it.
It's like you're not moving atall.
Rather, the world's just movingpast you now, out on the road,
you listen to the symphony ofthat well-engineered engine
underneath you.
The wind rushing past, youcatch the faint sound of a bird.

(09:07):
You notice the tones and therhythms of the road.
In your bike, you start to payattention to the vibrations that
are in your handlebars, thefeeling of the wind on your body
even the direction of the windmay be coming a little bit more

(09:28):
from one side than the other thepressure of your feet on the
pegs, the way the bike respondsto your guidance, not just with
your hands, but with your feet,even your hips, giving the
motorcycle guidance down theroad.
And sometimes you start tocatch the smells the smell of a

(09:53):
pine, even a distant shower,fresh cut grass.
How's your stress now?
Are your shoulders tense?
Are you gripping the handlebarsa little too tight?
Being tense makes you tired,and you don't want to be tired

(10:14):
on a day like this.
So relax and don't let the busylife that you just rode away
from creep in.
When your mind starts to wanderto your to-do list, to past
conversations, to meetings, tomissed deadlines, bring yourself

(10:38):
back again, in my case to my11-year-old self.
I am writing, I'm here and I'mso grateful for this experience.
Right now, so long you're right, thoughts are going to come and

(10:59):
go, thoughts about the weekahead, no matter what pressures
you may be facing, whether it'syour job, relationships, money.
Yeah, those things areimportant, those things are real
.
No-transcript.

(11:41):
Now, at some point it's time tocome back home, isn't it?
We just make giant loops whenwe go for rides anyway.
We always come back homeeventually, most of us.
So, once you've parked yourbike, take a moment before you
even take your helmet off.
Just sit for a moment, feel thewarmth of that engine, and this

(12:06):
is kind of cool.
If you've not done it before,listen to the gentle I don't
know what would you call itTinking the little crackling
sounds of steel as your motorcools.
You know that sound.
Have you ever stayed aroundlong enough to listen to it?
Just listen to it for a fewminutes.

(12:27):
It's kind of cool.
And I would encourage you thisbefore you go out of the garage
and turn the light out, expressgratitude for the experience you
just had, for the machine, forthe open road, for the
opportunity to connect withyourself.

(12:50):
Now, I know that we talk aboutgratitude all the time, but I
think it bears repeating.
If you are fortunate enough tohave a motorcycle in the garage
and you have the physical andmental capacity to ride it, well
, my friend, you are blessed,you are blessed, you are blessed

(13:14):
.
As much as I dread the businesstrips sometimes, I think it's a
healthy reminder.
When I see the people livingunder bridges and on the side of
the road begging for money, I'mreminded of how so very blessed
I have been to have amotorcycle all these years and

(13:37):
people around me who care.
Imagine a world where everyonehas the opportunity to recharge,

(13:57):
to find their center, to trulylive in the moment.
My friends, that opportunity issitting in your garage.
That's the power of mindfulmotorcycling.
It's not about going fast, it'snot about going far, it's not
about having the coolest bike.

(14:17):
It's about going deeper.
Maybe that ride will take youback to a time when, even as a
kid, you were zoned in.
Huh.
Maybe that's the peace of mindwe're all looking for, as always

(14:42):
.
Thank you so much for listening.
Until next time, I do wish youpeace and I wish you love.
Thank you.