Bike riding is a microcosm of life. It can be frustrating and difficult, or peaceful and joyous. Whether I’m riding “Trucker” out on the dirt roads or journeying through life some other way, when I’m fully engaged in the present moment, I “Enjoy The Ride.” When I trap myself with expectations or focus on the destination, frustration and difficulty often show up. If I toss it all to the side of the road and just be on the bike, peace and acceptance flood the space.
“Enjoy the ride” is one of those perfect little life reminders—whether it’s the literal ups and downs of a dirt road bike ride, or the bigger journey of retirement, and all the twists and turns that come with lovin’ life. I just want to soak it in: the good days, the quiet ones, the unexpected challenges. No rush, just the ride.
“Life is about accepting the challenges along the way, choosing to keep moving forward, and savoring the journey.” ~ Roy T. Bennett
No past, no future, no worries, or regrets. Just doing one thing at a time and giving all of my attention to it; the essence of Zen (empowered action). Wherever you go, there you are. The thought occasionally comes to mind that it would have been nice to have gleaned this 20 or 30 years ago, when my life was overflowing with worries and regrets. It’s just a thought, though, and I don’t pay it much mind as it drifts off like a fluffy white cumulus cloud in a cerulean blue sky.
Many “thoughts” aren’t pure, clear contemplation. They’re ego-driven noise, old baggage (dogma from upbringing, culture, and religion), rigid belief systems that calcify into unexamined rules. We endlessly ping-pong between past regrets and future expectations, that time-bound territory where the ego thrives. It needs the past to define “who I am” and the future to promise fulfillment. The present is irrelevant to the ego, unless it’s judging or rating it.
“The problem with introspection is that it has no end.” ~ Philip K. Dick
Empowered action arises from presence: an unburdened response to the now. When the mind is hijacked by egoic thought, action gets distorted or paralyzed: Procrastination disguised as preparation. Past regrets trigger old patterns—defensiveness, avoidance, or trying to fix something that’s not even broken.
Ego overrides that quiet inner knowing; egoic thoughts turn the present into an obstacle course rather than the only place where true life and genuine action occur. The ego makes the now its enemy by constantly arguing with “what is.” Stop resisting the moment, and the ego weakens; align with it, and empowered action flows more naturally because you’re not fighting yourself.
When we catch those ego-thoughts in the act—without judging them, just witnessing them—the grip loosens. Presence flows in. Thought quiets enough for action to feel less like work, and more spontaneous and alive. Then action becomes less about proving something or escaping something, and more about simply responding to the unfolding of life.