Life On A B-I7

November 19 is “Open Mic Night” at our local library. Writers are given the opportunity to share some of their work. You are allowed 7 minutes to share something you have written. This is my offering…

The day started out normally. The first thing I did was roll up my tent and put it in the stuff sack. It was then I realized my eyeglasses were still inside the tent.

My primary goal for today was to visit the Field of Dreams in Dyersville. That was 30 miles down the road. After yesterday’s 40 excruciating miles, I wasn’t entirely sure if I would make it. Fortunately, the roads today were much more conducive to bicycle travel. I even had a short stretch of 6 foot wide shoulder.

When I reached Dyersville, it was about 2 PM. I discovered there were no campgrounds in Dyersville. Looking ahead, I could see there was a nice 6-mile-long crushed limestone trail from Dyersville to Farley. Even though there were no campgrounds in Farley either, I decided that after my visit to the Field of Dreams, I would take the trail and let fortune be my guide. I ended up doing another 25 miles before I found a campground. I didn’t arrive until after 8 PM, so it was a long day, but it was worth it…

After a quick pint in Dyersville I headed out to the Field of Dreams…

There was a large parking lot on the site with a parking attendant. He looked at me and asked if I was a day late. He could tell by the puzzled look on my face that I wasn’t tracking. So he said, “are you with the group that came through yesterday?” I said I was not. He explained that yesterday 15,000 cyclists camped in the parking lot. Yesterday was the “Annual Great Ride Across Iowa.” I told him I was traveling solo across the country. He looked at me in disbelief, then told me I could enter for free. He gave me a souvenir ceramic pin too. I stuffed the pin in my pocket and headed for the ball field.

The first thing I noticed was people on the field taking batting practice and shagging balls. I guess you can pay to do that. I found that a little bit disappointing. For me, this is an iconic place. The very place where such greats as Shoeless Joe Jackson, Buck Weaver and Lefty Williams once gathered for a game.

Even though I was disappointed to see people on the field, I didn’t let that stop me from coming here to see what I wanted to see. I walked down the third base line and stood there, about 200 feet from home plate, looking at the stalks of corn out in centerfield. I may have stood there for 5 or 10 minutes, I’m not really sure. I was about to leave when I thought I saw something. I looked more closely… Even though this is why I came here, I was still surprised. A ball player stepped out of the corn stalks and began walking across the field. He walked straight toward me. As he got closer, I could see it was Shoeless Joe Jackson.

He walked right up to me, shook my hand, and said: “I know you’ve come a long way, thank you.” I was speechless. The silence between us was suddenly broken when someone yelled “watch out!” The batter at the plate had hit a sharp line drive over the third baseman’s head. It was coming right at us. I reached around behind Joe with my left hand and caught the ball on the first hop. I flipped the ball to my right hand and threw it back into the pitcher. Joe just looked at me, patted me on the shoulder and said., “nice catch.” I was dumbfounded. After an awkward pause, Joe looked at me and said: “I gotta go, there’s too many people around here for my taste. You come back sometime and I’ll bring some friends, we’ll have a nice game of catch.”

I’m taking a “Writing is Fun” class at my local Senior Center. The second assignment was to write a poem in eight Sentences.. The trick here was to choose a book from the library at random, turn to the 8th page and use the 8th line on that page as the first line of your poem. Here’s what I came up with.

One Random Sentence

1. “Maybe that was because I was looking at him through repressed tears of my own.”
2. How was I to know for sure?
3. After all, I could barely see him.
4. I could feel him reach out and touch my shoulder.
5. The doubt I was feeling about him immediately vanished.
6. There was something about his touch that reassured me.
7. My mind became clear, I realized why he had brought tears to my eyes…
8. He was the reason I was here.

As a bonus task, we were asked to use six words to define our lives. Naturally that is an impossible challenge. I have to admit, this would make a good start, but I like to think there is more to me than these six words suggest… perhaps I should have used hyphens…

Bonus Challenge

1. Read
2. Write
3. Love
4. Create
5. Ski
6. Cycle

A Buddhist Blessing for peace of mind and gratitude.

With a clear and open heart, I look upon the path behind me and the life before me.

I offer my deepest gratitude for all that has been given to me, for the deep ocean of conditions that support my life every single day.

I am grateful for the kindness of all those whose efforts have nourished my existence.

May the merit of this gratitude bring stillness to my heart. May all lingering anxieties, regrets, and restless thoughts dissolve into deep, immovable peace. May my mind become like a still, clear pool, resting in pure awareness and quiet joy.

It’s almost impossible now to get lost. We’re not allowed to get lost. We, I think, more and more agree to be controlled. We agree to be watched. We agree to be safe. We agree to not push it, not ask questions, not push boundaries.

–Robyn Davidson

–Painting by Jean Inyalanka Burke

Robyn Davidson is famous for her solo trek across the Australian Desert accompanied by her camel and her dog “Digity.” She did not intend to write about her journey, but after being asked to record her experience, she won major awards for her writing.

By choosing to cross the desert on her own, she was telling the world that our dignity is found in our choices and actions, not by following the direction of others.

I realize not everyone shares my political views, nor do I think everyone should. When I saw this poster it spoke to me. Yes, we are going through some tough times. We all need to find a way to listen to each other. Taking shortcuts to solve serious problems is not the correct path forward.

Everyone in our country has been hurt by the use of brutality and turning a blind eye to due process. Yes, the recent election results sent a message to our current leadership that the majority does not support this direction. Fixing this will not come about by going to the polls once every two years. We need to work together to understand what the real problem is. That work then needs to lead to solutions that do not rely on brutality, murder, and the violation of basic human rights.

The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.

–Harriet Beecher Stowe

Those words can hardly be expanded upon. Suffice it to say, if you have something you are compelled to share, especially if it is something gracious or kind, don’t hold back, let it be known.

To be really great in little things, to be truly noble and heroic in the insipid details of everyday life, is a virtue so rare as to be worthy of canonization.

–Harriet Beecher Stowe

Don’t feel bad if you are not a Nobel Prize winning Physicist. There are other things in life just as important. Do what you are able to do, and do it to the best of your ability.

There are no chains so galling as the chains of ignorance—no fetters so binding as those that bind the soul, and exclude it from the vast field of useful and scientific knowledge.

–Maria W. Stewart

There is nothing more important to Democracy than a strong public education system. Especially important is the teaching or ethics and morality. That can appear to be a loaded statement to some people. I’m not talking about ethics and morality as espoused by this religion or that religion. I’m talking about ethics and morality in a human sense. Those traits that all of us agree are beneficial to a functioning society. While there can be some difference of opinion here, I think it is our responsibility to reach a common ground on this subject, and teach it to our young. Everyone with a High School education should have a firm grasp of what it means to be ethical and moral. You should not have to be a Harvard Graduate to have acquired that knowledge.

And yet, we have no federal law, civil or criminal, that would allow punishment of candidates for federal office if they were to knowingly “feed” lies to the electorate.

We don’t know what the future holds, so it makes no sense to try and predict it. Not only that, but when we worry about the future, we are by definition, not paying attention to the present. Remember that hope and fear are closely related. To hope for something is to allow yourself to let fear into your consciousness which can have an influence over events.

It’s okay to be concerned about future events, it’s not okay to worry about them.

This should probably be considered “bathroom mirror stuff.” That does not diminish the message. The left column would make excellent material for meditative exercise.

To the Stoics, there are just three levels of Stoic learning. At the top of the pyramid is the Sage. Very few of us are fortunate enough to become this evolved. This can best be thought of as someone that is “perfectly wise.” This is where we should all be aiming. I’m certainly not there.

In the middle of the pyramid are those people that are “trying.” I count myself somewhere on this level. There can be a wide range of progression in this layer, we’ll leave it at that for now.

At the base of the pyramid is everyone else. This is composed of all the people that are not, to put it simply, trying to better themselves. I suppose that needs a bit more explanation. By “better” themselves what that infers is active study and outward effort to become wiser and improve their character. Another way of looking at these people is that they are not even aware that they lack wisdom. It doesn’t take a great deal of imagination to draw a picture in your mind of what sort of person that is. The beliefs they do carry they arrive at through social conditioning.

The Progressors, the middle layer, are those that have a clear understanding they are not wise (and we can assume would like to be, but understand clearly that is a long path that only few are successful in achieving.)

To sum this up and (perhaps) put it into perspective, to make progress we must realize two things: First, we must realize that we are imperfect, and Second, we must have a desire to improve and be taking active steps to improve. Keep in mind, it’s okay if most or your progress consists in the desire to make progress. Also, steps should be taken every day, in some way, to make progress. If you can say that, you are well on your way to being a solid “Progressor.”

Each of these exercises can be the inspiration for a Stoic discovery. They can be used as a meditation to reveal “responses” that will be useful in times of difficulty or stress.

1. Meditate on how all things in nature are in constant change.
2. Meditate on how everything you possess is on load to you.
3. Memento Mori. Reflect on your mortality. Be grateful for the time you have remaining, Use the time you have remaining wisely.
4. Be grateful. Realize that everything we have is a gift from the Universe.
5. Live in the moment. Plan for the future rationally, then let the future take care of itself.
6. Remember we are part of the human community and that we must serve each other.
7. Do not take things at face value. Weigh your impressions carefully before forming an opinion.
8. Sit down every morning before sunrise and write a page of text. Put down whatever comes to mind. Use that as inspiration for your day.
9. Study daily. Choose your material carefully. Your time is limited.
10. You will never know everything. Try and retain those things that will have the greatest impact on your life.

Only cowards use lies to further their desired goals. It is our public duty to discern truth from lies and act only upon the truth.

The movement of the water has no ability to change the nature of the light falling upon it. Remember then, change has no ability to alter the philosophy that you know and cherish.

Enjoy what you have, accept that someday those things may be gone. Do not give things power over you. Appreciate, but do not insist that something is necessary for happiness, because after all, happiness is inside of you, not something to be gained by overt pursuit.

It is wise to be like Abraham Lincoln when you find yourself in disagreement with someone. Write them a letter and carefully explain why they are wrong, then fold it up and put it in a drawer. It is easy to fight back, but that almost always ends in regret. When the time is right to share thoughts, the opportunity will present. That is when constructive exchange can occur.

Remember, no matter how much you try to force remembrance of yourself on others, all you are doing is building castles in the sand. None of that remembrance will be significant, and perhaps even resented, when you are gone. Be content to be remembered for what you stood for, not for the memorials you built to yourself.

Yes, I subscribe to this notion personally. I also sent this to the White House via its online contact page and addressed it to President Donald J. Trump.

All situations, and how we perceive them, require our active participation; Therefore we have control of our perception by the very nature of owning our perception.

What you read in these entries is not original, what you read in these entries is practice. Using great minds to seek the right path is as beneficial as having a great mind, for truly, what is the difference? It is the path that matters most.

It’s easy to act, using thoughtful words is harder and takes great study, patience, and preparation.

Defining when you will be happy or under what conditions you will allow happiness to consume you is foolish. The wise man looks for reasons to be happy every moment, not for reasons to be happy in the future.

It doesn’t matter what the desire is, the value we place on it determines whether that desire is uplifting or debasing. Where we set our heart will determine our ultimate satisfaction. Keep our desire and our heart pure. Simply put, wish not, want not.

Do not judge, but do study how the life of someone that indulges in evils actually works out. Happiness is not within their grasp, far from it. Don’t be like them.