3P Random Reflections Blog

This morning my husband headed out on one of his first few bike rides so far this season, starting off in a reasonably good mood. The sun was out and the temperature was pleasant.

Everything was going well until he noticed the speedometer. He was working fairly hard, but the speed was measuring an average of 5-10 KM/hr slower than his fitness level last year. This same thing had happened a few weeks ago when we were out on a previous ride together, but he discovered it was due to a wonky wheel and rubbing brakes. This time however, there was no mechanical excuse.

And then he began to notice more... People passing by him that normally he would be passing instead, beautifully fit cyclists gliding along with apparent ease, and an increasing focus on how he compared and how much he was struggling. He was bemoaning his current fitness level and wasn't enjoying the ride at all.

With an awareness of the power and illusion of thought, it suddenly occurred to him... Here he was, out for a ride on a pleasant day in a beautiful park, and not even noticing the beauty around him because he was so busy with the made up miserable conversation in his head. That momentary insight was just enough to pop him out of his mental spiral.

And then just a few minutes later in a state of calm and enjoying the ride, he came upon a beautiful red fox basking in the sun; a very rare site for anywhere in our province, let alone a somewhat busy park in the middle of the city. He was able to get within about 10 feet or so of his furry friend, with the two of them just meeting eyes and appreciating the day. Hello Mr. Fox. Hello Mr. Syposh.

Who knows if he would have even seen the fox if he was still all up in his head, but he is beginning to see how many wonderful and amazing things seem to magically appear much more often when his mind is clear.

So is it that there are often "beautiful foxes in the park", but we just miss them because we're so often up in our head? Or is it that we like to make more significance out of coincidences when we're in a positive state of mind?  Or is it even possible that "the fox appeared because the student was ready"?

Well, who really knows? We just seem to notice that the number of coincidences are piling up.

Gosh, and I wonder what the fox has to say about all this? 😊

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