Obstacles Attract

It all starts with a boy and his little red bike.

We're going to bump into all kinds of things in today's blog, folks.  So, "Obstacles Attract" huh well that's a fine howdy do. What in the world are we talking about?  Here's an example to get us started:

A bird flew into our family room window a few days ago. He left this imprint on our window.

When our Compassionate Samurai friend John saw the photo he was moved. "Wow! That is surreal, sad, and beautiful, all at the same time." 

Our friend Robert explained, "They make stickers that are barely visible to the human eye but birds can see to prevent this from happening. We need to use them because we have so many feeders in our yard. Typically its when a hawk comes by to eat one of the birds, they fly off in panic not really paying attention where they are going."

I said, "Seeing it in person makes even more of an 'impression'!  We never did find the bird, but he left tiny footprints on our hearts."

So what are we talking about today? The obstacles in our life and what we attract. Are we actually 'obstacle attractors' and what do we do with the obstacle when we attract it? Are there things that appear to be obstacles in one dimension but actually aren't when viewed through a different lens? How do we approach obstacles in the flow of our lives?

For instance, yesterday I was riding my bike. (Go figure!) It's a beautiful sunny blue, drop dead gorgeous, burn your drawers at a hundred yards, kind of a day. All right, a picture is worth a thousand descriptive words that I can come up with . . .

So I set out to ride my bike for 70 miles, training for next weekend's MS150 Bay To Bay Tour . . . Nope! You're not too late you can still help me help others by donating HERE! I'll do the riding from Irvine to San Diego. You do the donating! Deal? Did you know 200 people are diagnosed with MS in the U.S. each week? Talk about overcoming obstacles!  I'm trying to raise $2000 that will buy four lightweight wheelchairs for individuals who have MS. So far I've raised enough for three wheelchairs and maybe one footrest.

So I'm out doing this good thing. Being healthy. Being green. Being charitable. I'm in the bike lane approaching a corner and this guy comes up behind me and honks and yells. I look in my rearview helmet mirror (See above), and I don't recognize his 1971 "Anti-EstablishMint" Green Ford Maverick. So this isn't some buddy of mine honking to say 'Howdy".

Now in the state of California the Department Of Motor Vehicles says I have the same right to be in that bike lane that has become a right turn lane as he does. Some painter paid by the Golden State painted a wide stripe on the pavement for me to ride in that lane. It dawns on me that the guy behind me is honking and yelling for me to get out of his way. I'm thinking would he be doing this if I were in a car in that same turn lane/bike lane? I'm moving along at a pretty good clip toward the corner 50 feet away when a beer bottle sails past my head. Yeah, a beer bottle! I turn right at the corner. He turns right calls me a fag, shows me his gnarly middle finger, and continues yelling epithets as he goes on down the road. 

When I'm out riding my bike I try to be aware of everything around me in what I call "The Flow". The Flow has all kinds of elements of which I'm just a tiny part. There are cyclists, skaters, pedestrians, dogs, children, cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, all moving in The Flow. Every now and then you get something in The Flow that is a disruption. An obstacle. Clearly I was an obstacle to this drunk driver. I'm thinking to myself. It really takes a much better person than me to not respond in anger to a disturbance in The Flow like that. Then I start extrapolating into what obstacles does he attract in his life? Sometimes I get very philosophical when I ride. Sometimes I get very angry. Okay, so I'm not Gandhi on a bike.

It's like we were in two totally different dimensions. A choir directing book writing friend of mine, (who knew there were two of us?), has written two books in a series he's doing exploring dimensions existing in the same place at the same time. At that moment in my bike ride, I felt like one of the characters in his first book, Dimensions: The Wheat Field

It's a good read that will get your mind percolating!  Once you're hooked on the idea, get Dave's second book, Dimensions II: The Plethora.  It's scheduled to be released in November of 2010. Check it out at this website!

Fast forward about three miles. If you're having trouble picturing where I am, I'll map it out for  ya! CLICK HERE! This is my famous "Tour De South Bay" route that I created for my Outspokin' For Jesus! Christian cycling club. Join us sometime! Its a really cool bunch of people!  So, I'm doing a twenty mile longer version that will take me all the way out to the tip of Coronado Island. But I digress. I'm up in the top center area of the route on the map, and there's this car coming up very slowly behind me. 

It's an old Datsun 240Z. I'm thinking "Does everybody drive cars from the 1970's in this neighborhood?"  It's black with blacked out windows and an engine that has a full-throated rumbling sound. He's coming up really slowly, like eerie ominous behind me. Now after my last experience, I'm thinking what is this guy doing? I feel like Dennis Weaver in the Steven Spielberg's first movie, Duel. Only I've got this creepy black 240Z behind me and not an ugly massive tanker truck!

So we get to top of this hill and he's still hovering, loitering behind me. I make a left hand turn and he follows me very slowly. There's no traffic in the oncoming lane, so he moves way over to his left and passes me very slowly giving me a very comfortable wide berth. Once he's safely past me, he takes off. He was simply existing in The Flow with me as a kind, courteous considerate driver. We're in the same dimension, existing peacefully. What a refreshing change from the first guy in the old Maverick.Two totally different ways for a person to deal with an obstacle in their path. To be honest, I'd say 98% of the drivers out there are very conscientious about those of us on two wheels.

Speaking of two wheels . . . It's an eerie experience to be dropped off on a bus in Irvine at Oh-Dark-Thirty in the morning and realize that the only way back home is two skinny wheels and a 4 inch seat over the next two days. Did I mention you can still donate to my charity ride for MS . . . HERE?

So I'm going along with The Flow, and get another three or four miles down the road. I ride through an intersection and this car on my right runs the red light and makes a right turn coming precariously close to my back wheel. I glance back quickly to see if I'm nuts or if I still had a green light. I did. I then look at the teenage girl talking on her cell phone driving the car that had almost hit me. She's oblivious. She's in a full metal jacket weighing maybe 4000 pounds and I'm in a jersey and my ever stylish spandex shorts. Clearly there's no contest here, if we collide I lose. She turns left at the next corner into the mall probably to hook up with her friends. I'm thinking she still doesn't know how close she came to hooking up with the back wheel of my bike! Two dimensions at the same time in the same place . . . again. Drunk driver or dialing driver either way it's the wrong place for me on my little red bike. Am I the obstacle or are they the obstacle? Sometimes dimensions and obstacles are nothing more than puzzles and shadows to be figured out.

Those of you who know me know I love the arts. I see them as a bridge between heaven and earth. The emotional swelling in the throat, witnessing the fantasy of creation, experiencing the emotion and flow of a musical masterwork. I think they're all glimpses of heaven.

Along the ride there are lots of pieces of public art. Not necessarily things that make your soul leap with wonder, but more like things that make you say "cool". Like this sculpture piece, Banner Art by John Banks. I'm now miles away from the near misses I shared with you earlier. I'm out on the coast in Imperial Beach. So I ask you, is this art?

It may be an obstacle to you to see this as art. It may be up to debate until you see it from another angle. Dare I say another dimension?

Viewed from this angle, clearly it's "ART". Okay, so points for clever if not classic, but clearly, dimensions and angles can be hurdles or obstacles to our understanding. It reminds me of First Corinthians 1:18 (NCV)   The teaching about the cross is foolishness to those who are being lost, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  Those who believe by faith they are saved, live life and view life through a different lens than those who are not believers. Again, living in the same space at the same time, but in different dimensions. 

Well, I'm ending this piece on a happier note than I started, huh! A metaphor for life? Our paths are always filled with ups and downs and boulders and borders, and dimensions and angles, obstacles, and moments of 'flow', artistry and amazement. Sometimes frozen on a piece of glass. Sometimes a fleeting sensation in our heart. There will always be obstacles in our lives. It's how we deal with them, that defines our life. 

I leave you with another of my favorite pieces of public art along my bike ride. This one is called My Bike by Amos Robinson.  
 

 Yep! It's a red bike. Just like mine. Ars Longa, Vita Brevis.