Summer is lingering, but Autumn is trying to break through. Can you feel the season changing? Happy September!
Change is usually what September brings. For those of you on an academic schedule, school is off and running. Those of us in the Northeast begin looking for a fleece or a sweater. I usually think about drying off some wood to have a backyard campfire. As I write this update, I am enjoying the second-to-last day of my bike ride from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC. I am driving the SAG (support and gear) vehicle this morning, so I have a rare hour or two to myself before meeting my team for lunch. It’s a balmy 69 degrees (21 degrees Celsius for my Aussie and European friends). It feels delicious to have both the time and space to take the time to bike ride.
But why the heck would anyone ride for 6 days on a bike when s/he can hop in the car and be there in just over four hours?
I am practicing how to be unproductive and inefficient! The terms now beg further explanation. Clearly, my goal is not speed. And it costs exponentially more to ride my bike to DC than drive the car (by the time you add in food and lodging). In the past, I have completed this ride while camping along the way. Camping costs a lot less and sometimes is free at various points along the bike trail. Sometimes it is good to do things precisely because they are slow and not fully optimizing one’s time.
In some ways, the ride has been for the good of my health; an often used phrase in Australia (where I am from), said glibly or sarcastically. Going at a slower pace, I have seen more clearly; wildlife like a blue heron, a turtle, a rabbit, and of course, lots of deer. There’s time for longer conversations with fellow bikers. There’s time for silence – yesterday (Day 4) on the trail, we rode together for two hours in silence. It was nourishing. We just sort of fell into it. We’d found our pace, and we all felt a bit more confident in our riding skills. We knew we could make it. So, we simply enjoyed the grandeur of the trees, the breeze on our faces, and the river. It was truly a sense of being one with the universe or at least one with nature. And although my body is a little sore and stiff, I also feel pride that my body is up for the adventure.
None of the above happens when I drive my car for four hours (to DC). I do enjoy the silence (if driving alone) and getting where I am going. But the highway is not the same as a bike path. It’s not meant to be. And that’s OK. My challenge to you is this: Is there something you are currently doing for speed and efficiency that you could refrain from doing for a day or a week? And perhaps even seem unproductive and inefficient? I am the queen of multi-tasking, but it is highly over-rated. On my bike, I can do just one thing – ride. I am finding that this is a very good practice for me to do.
Lastly, I made some wonderful connections while riding. You can meet my team here. And we were riding for a cause, Bike4Haiti. Feel free to click here if you want to know more or would like to support the ride. It’s not too late. We are so close to our $20,000 goal.
Self-Care Practice
Here’s a practice I really like called Ratio Breathing. It is simple enough. When you get the hang of it, you can experiment with the ratios, remembering that the longest number (last one) is the exhale. You can use this to sustain yourself throughout a busy day. It’s simple enough to use and/or teach in a classroom setting also. I have found that kids and adults enjoy ratio breathing. The longer exhale stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest). It’s a great way to find your calm place.
Here’s a link to a one-minute video of Ratio Breathing here.
Audio Book
I am pleased to announce that an audio version of my book, Trauma-Informed Yoga, will be released on Tuesday, September 13 by Tantor Media. A sample of the audio can be heard on the link provided. It will be on the following audio platforms:
Here is the bio of the talented professional narrator: Cat Gould grew up in Sydney, Australia, and after extensive travel moved to the United States in 1990. She is a classically trained actress with a BFA from Southern Oregon University and has performed in many regional productions. Her passion for storytelling, communication, and language is matched well with her dexterity with characters and dialect. She can communicate in French, Spanish, and Italian, and is a voracious reader of fiction, philosophy, and psychology to deepen her understanding and ability to express the human condition.
Poetry
I wrote the poem below while on the trail last week at Town Hill. (Actually, I was sitting on this porch - below - since I cannot write and bike at the same time!)
Oh, the mist
The lichen on the trees
The dewy cobwebs
The faint show of red in the leaves
Autumn is knocking
And summer is saying
Not yet, not just yet
I am lingering a little longer
Crickets
Soothing
The fine gossamer thread
Of the web
Enticing and oh-so-delicate
The babbling brook
Soothes
The raindrops come and go
I am content and peaceful
In this moment
And then Eric stepped onto the porch
I had two poems published this month in Agape Review. It gives me a little thrill to see them in print. Click here to read Contemplative Pilgrimage. Click here to read A Psalm for Praying.
Currently, I am in the second year of a doctoral program in Creative Writing and Public Theology at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. One of my colleagues, Sharon McCart, had one of her poems published in Macrina Magazine. Click here to read her poem, Reset/Preset. It is a wonderful experience to be in community with other writers.
How Are You?
Just before I sign off for the month, I’d love to hear about your practices of inefficiency and unproductiveness (whether intentional or not). Are you surprised? Happy? Frustrated? Are there practices you would like me to share to help you on your journey?
New Children’s Book
Here’s a new children’s book from Jennifer Cohen Harper. It’s the third in her Thank You series. It is a truly fabulous children’s book. Here’s my official endorsement:
“Jennifer Cohen Harper’s latest children’s book gives us the message that our breath is our superpower. Indeed, this is a timely message as our attention is continually distracted by the latest and newest bright and shiny thing. Beautifully illustrated, clearly and accessibly written, Cohen Harper’s Thank You Breath describes simple and concrete ways for young children and their parents/caregivers to notice the breath and perform the breathing exercises themselves. Do these exercises with your kids and be amazed at what happens. I highly recommend this book to you.”
You can buy it here.
Enjoy the rest of your September!
Keep on breathing.
Joanne Spence