In this week’s edition of the JOURNAL, Bill Moyers asked poet Nikki Giovanni why she chose to title her new collection BICYCLES. Giovanni said:
“I just thought 'I've got to rethink it, and then I've got to find an object'... Well, tragedy and trauma are wheels. And they're always with us, aren't they? They're always spinning around. That’s the parameters of life, these tragedies. They just spin around and spin around. And so what you're trying to do is bring them together. And when you bring them together you've got the bar, so you have a vehicle, right? When I grew up you learned to ride a bicycle by getting on a bicycle, which means you're gonna fall off. And love and life and bicycles are about trust and balance. It's about riding it and believing that this thing, that doesn't make sense for you to be on, can move... We do that in our relationships. It's the same bike. We are continuing relationships through trust and balance.”
If you get the chance, check out the link because the site is pretty great: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/2009/02/metaphors_for_life.html
So, yeah, this got me thinking about how biking is a metaphor for my own life... the first thing I thought about was the fact that when you are biking, like in life, you have to just keep going, pushing through the bad weather, rude people, and long days to get to your destination. And just like life, it is up to you how you perceive the challenges that come up and it is what you do with them that determines whether or not you enjoy the journey. For me, I try to always try and see things as an adventure, part of a good story, or the punchline to a funny joke. Plus, if life was all butterflies and rainbows it wouldn't be half as interesting, funny, or intense and we would take it all for granted. The metaphor of biking AS life is all too appropriate for me, because right now, biking IS life.
On a random note... my friends Cedric and Andrea that started the Holy City Bike Co-op are leaving town and heading to Spain, which is exciting for them and a little bittersweet for us...
Here are two pics from the going away potluck brunch (snagged from Natalie Moore's facebook album). They will be missed!!
Cedric and Andrea
Myself, Art, and JJ
2 comments:
HOLY CRAP!!! just read about the girl getting hit by the old dude...extremely funny in hindsight knowing that nobody died.
At the end of the month I am moving real close to campus, so hopefully not going to use my car much more.
When is your spring break?
Nikki, Didn't know you were such an inspiration. Even Mitchell caught the bug! I almost get run over running each morning on the sidewalk in front of Starbucks by drivers on the phone, drinking coffee and only looking for cars! Just be careful... Dad
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