When I was learning to ride a motorbike, I took a course in Surrey, outside Vancouver. Every day for a week we’d have lessons in a classroom in the morning and then go outside in the afternoon, applying what we’d learnt and practice riding. Gosh, I loved it! The adrenaline, the bike jacket and all the gear, the sound of the engines, and the feelings of accomplishment growing each day as I became the master of this powerful machine. My coolness factor was spiking off the charts!
The first day in class our instructor showed us a video of a group of riders who were on a jaunt out in the country. We learnt the correct formation and the fundamentals. At one point in this video, the group was going around a left bend in the road, and one of the riders started veering off the road, couldn’t take the bend in time and drove into the ditch on the right hand side of the road. We had the bird’s eye camera view of the rider behind him. At this point the instructor paused the video. This is where the first important life lesson came in.
The motorbike follows the direction of your body, and your body follows the direction of your head, which follows the direction of your eyes. I’m going to call it a “natural law” and one we must pay attention to, to ensure we stay safe and alive. Whatever we focus on, whatever we put our attention on, aka, wherever we look, that’s where we will end up. If the rider behind the fallen bike continued to look at the fallen rider, or the spot where the rider came off the road, he too would go into that ditch. We need to keep our eyes ahead, looking at where we want to go, in this case towards the end of that bend, otherwise, our body, and therefore our motorbike, would follow our attention; in this case off into the ditch. Just like in life, our energy and our actions follow our attention.
The second life lesson I learnt was to lean in. Have you ever watched a rider take a corner? The bike and rider lean in to the corner, not against it or away from it. This seemed counterintuitive at first, yet, again, it was a “natural law” of riding a motorbike. We needed to lean in to the curve, not go against it, otherwise the bike would fall over. Leaning in prevents you from falling over. Just like in life. When we lean in to what is happening, when we lean in to the moment, we go with the flow of energy. When we accept it, we can flow right through it. We stay upright and keep moving forward. And dare I say it, have an exhilarating ride!
So, I have two important questions for you:
1. What are you giving the majority of your attention to? Is it where you want to go?
2. Where might you need, or want, to lean in to what is happening in your life?
With love,
Jenny
Photo cred: Abe Khamis.