Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.Rich Clark
09-05-02, 09:01 PM
[A short meditation that developed during this evening's commute]
Their power comes from the oil fields of the Middle East, from the investments of wealthy oilmen, from the dangerous labor of refinery workers.
My power comes from my legs, and lungs, and heart.
Their power comes from the assembly lines of Detroit, the design studios of Los Angeles, the marketing finesse of Madison Avenue.
My power comes from resolve, desire, joy.
Their power drains them. They arrive at their destinations frustrated and full of tension; they return home exhausted and full of anger.
My power energizes me. At work I'm alert and engaged; at home I'm welcoming and ready for fun.
Their power makes them poor, and robs them of their lives.
My power makes me rich, and extends my life.
***
The sense of powerlessness is universally pervasive in our culture. The signs of the struggle for personal power are everywhere, but nowhere more clearly evident than on our roads and highways. It's the one place where people feel they can actually BUY power, and use it.
But the power they buy and use is the power to spend profitless time in a steel cage, trapped and alone.
If they vent a little bit of their despair by honking their horns at me as they pass, I don't begrudge them their tiny moment of release. I've been there. I know how they feel. And I know how I feel. It's all I need to know.
We control our own lives, one pedal stroke at a time. That's power.
RichC
Their power comes from the oil fields of the Middle East, from the investments of wealthy oilmen, from the dangerous labor of refinery workers.
My power comes from my legs, and lungs, and heart.
Their power comes from the assembly lines of Detroit, the design studios of Los Angeles, the marketing finesse of Madison Avenue.
My power comes from resolve, desire, joy.
Their power drains them. They arrive at their destinations frustrated and full of tension; they return home exhausted and full of anger.
My power energizes me. At work I'm alert and engaged; at home I'm welcoming and ready for fun.
Their power makes them poor, and robs them of their lives.
My power makes me rich, and extends my life.
***
The sense of powerlessness is universally pervasive in our culture. The signs of the struggle for personal power are everywhere, but nowhere more clearly evident than on our roads and highways. It's the one place where people feel they can actually BUY power, and use it.
But the power they buy and use is the power to spend profitless time in a steel cage, trapped and alone.
If they vent a little bit of their despair by honking their horns at me as they pass, I don't begrudge them their tiny moment of release. I've been there. I know how they feel. And I know how I feel. It's all I need to know.
We control our own lives, one pedal stroke at a time. That's power.
RichC