I was small talkin’ with a woman I see occasionally at a place I teach at a few times month. I asked her what’s new and she told me she’s been going for long bike rides this summer because she loves to peddle and she lite up when she described how much she adored how fast she can go while still being in control.
And I could relate because it’s exactly why I didn’t love surfing (too fast and too out of control) and exactly why I love to dabble with rollerblading (as long as my body is covered in pads).
I told her that I’m currently living in LA and she said she’d never been to the west coast before.
“That side of the country is magic,” I told her as if we were sitting around a campfire exchanging memories of our past.
“I’ve heard,” she said back. “I want to go when I retire. In five years. Take my bike out there and ride. Ride all day.”
And something about what she said got my insides in a twist. I wanted to lean toward her and raise my non-work appropriate voice and say go, just go. Don’t you dare wait five years to pump your legs and ride as the wind makes your hair swirl like a paintbrush on a brand new canvas.
Something about that statement made me sad. Made me realize that we – you, I, we – say things like that a lot.
“Not now…because, you know…”
But hey, listen up. All we have is now. Right now. Right now. RIGHT NOW. So please go and take that trip and do that thing you’ve wanted to do and when you’re in the middle of that adventure, look back at all the reasons you didn’t do it sooner and promise to never mouth those words ever again.
PS. THIS….
