Haiku from Bike Trip

Here it is;

A Chaotic life,
A pristine bike ride
is a nice paradox

TAN

Pedal, Peace and the Power of Silence

Last week, my husband and I took a bike trip vacation, along the C&O canal, which runs a total of 184 miles from Georgetown to Cumberland, MD. The trip was well-planned but the weather didn't permit us to complete the whole 184 miles in a few days; I almost completed it, just over 70 miles short of finishing the trail. For me, it was magic not to finsh it this time, for I have the next bike trip to pedal.

The change of plans didn't upset me at all; instead, I felt totally elated by our physical stamina, our creative ideas on dealing with the changes of location and our minds ... the remnant of miles to complete is an organic gift to look forward to in the future.

Most important of all, I found my new passion, the Spirit of Silence. During my first 30 miles of biking, the surrounding nature was shadowed by the complete quietness of the forest. I could hear the trees breathing. I could absorb the flow of the canal into my flow of thoughts. There was an exact moment when my two tiring legs kept pedaling, and my heart and my mind was focused seriouly on "the moment." It happened naturally without forcing, without even thinking of trying to focus. There was no meditation involved. It was pure and simple "silence." I immediately felt in love with its spirit.

While pedaling, the body exerted energy to move the bike along the splendid canal, and my monkey mind was tamed by nature, the classic teacher. It was a complete paradox for me since I saw myself moving forward to the next mile, that my mind could be so still from the power of silence.

I am biking on the endless miles of bikepath and learning to embrace the spirit of silence, be at the moment and keep pedaling.

TAN

Wearing your passion will take you far

I believe that passion can lead my way into good work and a great life, and I will live a relatively healthy life, if not the most successful one, but at least, the most productive one, because of passion.

First let me talk about good work.

My passion often pushes me to look for tasks that inspire me. I realize that I enjoy teaching English to immigrants in DC when I am in the classroom and facilitate language learning. My heart grows bigger when the students ask me questions or when the students try to figure out the right answer to a question I've asked them. I slowly help them discover the answers by themselves.

Passion to me is a stream of continual inspiration. It works especially well when it presents a paradoxical theme. I am a Thai woman, leading an organization that teaches English to adult immigrants. I love this paradox, and am aware of it all the time. I never dreamed I would be doing this. A few years ago, I was in a quiet house next to the mountains and rice fields in Northern Thailand.

Reading, listening, watching, observing, and thinking about life over the past ten years, I am willing and able to blend my passion(s) into principle(s) deeper and deeper. I can stand firm and say, "yes" when I really feel "yes" or say, "no" when it is worth the "no." I can gradually idealize what to include in a purposeful good life. That is, I will eliminate extra stuff that I don't really need in life and steer my focus into what I need to do, to be and to have.

One of the things that I need to have in order to maintain a healthy and purposeful life is "passion." I have experienced hundreds of examples that show me the power of passion, and I'm sure it will carry me (and my life) as long as I would like to go. I am sure it will do the same in your life.

Celebrate your passion.

TAN

P.S. In my next blog entry, I will write about the passion in my personal life.