Successful and happy retirement includes, among other activities, daily rigorous physical exercise. In my case, this takes the form of stretching, weight lifting (lifting for tone; definitely not for body building contests), abdominal exercises, and cycling. Road cycling to be precise, usually 2.5 to 3 hours each and every morning. On this particular morning, it came to me that cycling is a metaphor for life in America.
First, no one gave me the carbon fiber road cycle I ride each morning. An relatively expensive machine, I worked part-time to earn the funds for its purchase. I did not disadvantage my wife, nor did I shirk my other financial obligations to acquire the bike. I did not start a GoFundMe project. I did not go on Facebook demanding friends, relatives, and acquaintances open their wallets to buy the bike. In other words, I worked and earned the money for the purchase.
Next, each morning I enjoy the absolute freedom of deciding my goals for the day, the route to be ridden, and the amount of effort to be expended. I do not expect, nor do I even desire, some government office to issue a decree telling me where to ride, when, how far, or at what pace. This freedom is quintessentially American.
I choose to face each new day, without expecting or asking someone to take my place, pay my way, excuse a day of sloth, or disadvantage themselves. Sometimes it is difficult to rise for the day's ride, but individual perseverance and determination prevail.
Each morning I join the overwhelming majority of my fellow citizens in obeying the laws essential to creating and maintaining a safe environment, as we move along the roadways. Relying upon their willing obedience, as I cycle through an intersection. I rely on them, just as they rely on me. The essential element of a civil society.
The results of this rigorous exercise are directly proportional to the effort I put in, so don't put in a half-ass effort expecting great results. I don't look to the government to take someone else's hard earned results and give them to me. Thus the achievements each morning are my own. And as such, of greater personal value.
I do not interfere with fellow citizens pursuing their objectives, nor do they (as a rule) interfere with me. This is more than just obeying the laws, it is letting others pursue their own objectives and follow their own dreams. Each of us enjoying the same freedoms, by not putting obstacles of any kind in each others way. If they are being more successful, riding farther and faster, I don't set out to block their efforts.
Among the freedoms is choosing the hills and their associated challenges. It is not taking the easy way, nor is it avoiding challenges, like so many in government and academia would have us do. Is every challenge overcome in exactly the desired manner? Of course not. Some days the hills seem a bit steeper and longer than other days. But even when the day's challenges are daunting, giving up is not an option.
Unlike many activists, so-called journalists, academics, and politicians who preach that challenges can't be overcome, my morning cycling demonstrates they can be. On those challenging days, sometimes what seemed like an exceptionally arduous outing actually produced new personal records. Surprising myself with greater than expected achievements. Again, these are my achievements, not "free" gifts from some government. But if the results are less than desired, there is no penalty for trying. Just the opposite.
Just like days in our lives, there is coasting along in some areas, balanced with pressing hard in others. Some parts of each day's ride are relatively easy, just as some days at work are easier than others. Again, some days require more effort, just as is the case in life generally. At work. At home. It doesn't matter, some days are just harder than others. But that does not provide reason to fail to show up and try. It does not justify sitting on one's arse complaining, let along expecting the government, school administrators, or others to make the day easier. There is fulfillment when overcoming adversity. There is joy of achievement when excelling.
That fulfillment and joy are only possible if we engage life, if we put forth effort, if we display determination, if we just simply work hard.
Yep, all of that is what I experience each day when cycling. And all of that is what life in America is all about.
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