Mile 2,579: If 6 was 9

"Now if six turned out to be nine, 

I don't mind, I don't mind." 

Jimi Hendrix

You pull into your regular parking spot at your office, and two guys in shirts and ties are already standing at your door. They try to look enthusiastic, ready to shake your hand and sell you something. But you can see deep down that they don't want to be there. They are floating through life, not swimming.

That's the way Hunter Thompson characterized life. Are you just floating, or are you swimming?

On the way this morning to that particular scene, I stopped at a usual intersection. First in line at the red light. I noticed, just inches ahead of my front tire, a handful of nails and screws. Did a construction worker forget to close the toolbox? Did some horrible person do this deliberately?

I throw the bike in neutral, get off, and begin picking up the nails and screws one-by-one. The bald guy in the minivan behind me looks at me like I'm crazy. I don't mind. I don't mind. I show him my palm full of metal, and he nods in affirmation. It is a long light, so I know I have plenty of time.

Get back on the bike. Kick it into first. About 30 seconds later the light turns green.

Go about the rest of your day, even getting passed the two guys in starched shirts and cheap ties.

Swimming. Not floating.

Place the focus where it belongs. Look for things that fill you with life, and get beyond the things that suck the life out of you. Thankful for the fillers; goodbye to the suckers. And as Hendrix further put it so well, words to live by as we throw a leg over our favorite steed to wave on:

"Cause I got my own world to live through and I ain't gonna copy you."