Philosophy at its finest!

I woke up this morning feeling philosophical so I began to write. I thought about riding bikes and how much fun I could have on some newly cleared trails, but the 60-70mph winds here in the South West, thanks to Storm Darragh, will not permit that today.  The photo below was from a session at Grogley Woods, where I was relentless in riding like a small child through a dirty old puddle in order to help my friend Josef get a few shots and boost my ego. Strangely,this morning in my philosophical mood, and on reflection of that session, I came to a simple conclusion about life. You can take it or leave it, I know what i'd do, because it's just the morning ramblings of a bloke about to take his dog out in 70mph winds, and I feel a bit like Captain Scott of the Antartcic, 'I'm going outside and might be sometime'. Anyway, here it is, my philosphy on life whilst looking at a photo. 

'Life is like riding through a dirty puddle on a bike'.

Here's my justification, I think of it like this. As you enter the water (muddy puddle) there’s a moment of ‘Aaaaahhhhh’, you lift your legs up to avoid getting soaked, realising that most of this effort is a fruitless task. When you’re through the other side, you're hoping that water displacement caused by two wide mountain bike tyres has saved you, but knowing in reality you couldn't be further from that. Firstly, you look and feel your newly aquired, and instantly cold and sopping wet feet complete with drenched socks. When you sit back down on your soaked saddle you feel that cold dirty mud that just sprayed up the backside, and has freshly soaked your underwear, what a joy. However, despite these misgivings of riding through a muddy puddle, this whole action is usually followed by a huge grin, just like when you were  a kid. Then, something inside your brain tells you to move onto the next one,  and the next one, it’s just like pressing the repeat button, and the smiles keep coming.

Is life not a little like that? Do we not head into lifes opportunities like muddy puddles with what we hope is a rough outline of what might lay ahead? We anticipate gaining new experiences, a wealth of knowledge, greater learnings and probably some unforgettable memories along the way. We gain reflection when we've taken that opportunity and made it through the other side? Whether it be relationships (good and bad), employment, immersing ourselves into a new sport or hobbie, going to our first festival or listening to new music; we get excited, we delve in.  It's how we come out the other side, that's what matters. 

Like riding through a muddy puddle, on occasion life might feel like we have to lift our feet to avoid the oncoming mess. Some of us try to duck out of certain aspects, take a different line,  and endeavour to ignore (depending on your mindset) the worst of what's coming. But mostly it’s unavoidable, what's going to happen will happen, and there’s might be nothing that you or anybody around you can do to prevent it. To return again to the puddle, 'most of the time you're going to get soaked'. But think on a little. After the broken hearts, loss, the redundancy, the let downs, disappointments, the injury, or those things, the most nonsensical, that have no real impact on life,  a washed out festival, or disappointing gig, I truly believe there is one certainty. If you've had an open mind and positive outlook going in, throughout, and beyond that moment, the smiles will return. There is no timescale on this, it might not be instant, but there is no deadline, no calendar alert on your smartphone, and no morning alarm to let you when it's OK to smile, it comes when it comes. When riding with friends, there is a shared energy, and the friends around you will laugh at you, laugh with you, and be there to support you. They’ll be there when you enter the puddle, and they might be following you into the same, or similar puddle themselves. Better still, if they’re in front of you, leading the charge, you’ve got the best seat in the house to see what to expect, what mistakes they make. Realistically, you enter the puddle at your own risk, It’s your choice, it’s your decision and It’s your life and whatever happens next will either be within or outside of your control. How we deal with it though, well that is down to us. Life really is like riding through a puddle.

Morning philosophy. I thank you.