Finding center

I had a lovely commute to work this morning from the Starbucks. No comments, it's close by and I only drink coffee flavored sugar and over preserved pastries once a week at most. Marni and I were on our Friday morning breakfast date which was wonderful. We got to sit peacefully for a few minutes and see each other without home's distractions, save for poking our own private fun at the 40 year old moms and mini me's who were dressed alike. Work obligations beckoned and we both went off to face the day. Starbucks is further away from work than home so I got a great ride in and enjoyed being alone with my thoughts. I do my best thinking riding by myself.

Marni and I were discussing the upcoming fall at breakfast. Notably the "end" of her season and the beginning of another round of focus for me. She's done amazingly well, racing from April to September in two different disciplines in her first season. Plus she has been not only finishing but improving and finishing well. Her focus now shifts to her students, some of which require an inordinate amount of attention and perhaps a bit to me, allowing some of that singular obsession that produces great fitness. I on the other hand am looking forward to some of that focused energy. Lately I've been on a break from hardcore training. It would be impossible for me to ride hard all year long. Sure I've been riding, even sneaking in a trip to White Rim, but I wouldn't say I've been training like I was in March and April. Instead my focus has been on the rest of my life as my injuries heal and my morning hobbling becomes only a slight limp. I'm trying to close up the "car chapter" for the moment which involves lots of trips to FedEX and the post office as well as answering online questions about the thousands of dollars in parts I'd collected and am now selling. Plus I've been there for Marni, getting her ready for school again after a great summer of hanging out together and getting to go on lunch dates multiple times a week.

So that long winded introduction leads me to the point of my thoughts. I'm not a spiritual person, particularly not in the traditional sense. But there is something special about the ebb and flow of life that I'm happy to be a part of. Injury stokes the fires of passion. Challenge brings new understanding. Failure leads to future strength and resolve. All of these phrases describe how life itself is rarely centered. You rarely experience the "perfect moment" when everything comes together. Instead it's a series of events that often swing wildly from one extreme to another. Or sometimes all you get is a gradual change until one morning you have to put your jacket on for that brisk fall commute. Center is not a destination. It's something to wave to as it passes it by a few times a year and I wouldn't have it any other way.