Let’s face it – not a lot of us just stop what we’re doing and say to ourselves – “Hey, it’s great to be alive!”
I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting more reflective in my middle-age, or because I’ve lost weight and I’m in the healthiest state I’ve ever been in my whole so that I appreciate things (particularly my health) more, or maybe that I’m in better shape than the vast majority of the people of the US (and especially my age group) and have come to value that immensely – but I’ve found myself saying the above to myself once in awhile over the last few years. And it’s usually while biking.
I sure never used to think it.
I’m usually riding along; maybe looking out over an interesting bit of scenery (or maybe just plain riding!) like the roaring Black River, or glancing out from the top of a hill I’ve just climbed and looking over a beautiful vista of greenery spread laid out below me, or just strongly riding (and keeping up well) in rough traffic through the city, or what-have-you. And I’m rolling along at a good clip, lots of energy, lots of reserve energy, feeling strong and good, knowing I’m not too thin like I was when I was young and not too overweight like I was a few years ago and with some nice muscle tone now.
And I just think to myself “Hey, it’s great to be alive!”
It certainly is conducive to this attitude that finally the northern New York weather is nice, after an especially long-seeming winter which extended well into Spring.
Heck, even if you’re not in great shape, or have health issues; you’re still alive and you can make changes and improve.
Now I’m sounding like my wife’s motivational weight loss blog 😉
There’s just nothing like the feeling of feeling good about your life. And I think it’s nice to sit back once in a while and consider not taking for granted that we’re still here and can continue to improve our lives no matter what.
So anyway, I’ve decided to start bringing a small camera with me while biking and taking random pictures of things as I bike. Thought it would be interesting. Here’s a few random ones (with captions) from one ride;
