Beautiful Day

This morning I left work for about 45 minutes to retrieve a few items on my bike (click here to see them loaded on the bike). I could only carry about 1/2 or 3/4 of the items, not because of their weight but because of their awkwardness. And yes I could have carried them in my vehicle...and ironically my "vehicle" that I often mention in these posts is a small 11-year-old pickup truck. But if I drove my truck I would not have experienced this beautiful morning. The air was crisp (my fingers were a tad cold...should have worn gloves), the sky was a brilliant blue and a perfect backdrop to the yellow-leaved trees. With the view ahead of me combined with the smell of wood smoke in the air and the sound of leaves under my tires it reminded me of the autumns of my youth. I had my camera so I snapped a quick photo (Norwood Avenue for any Buffalonians reading this).

I've been trying to live in the moment lately, to be present at the present time (but being mostly unsuccessful at it), and after putting my camera away and starting to pedal again I was present; I was fully aware of all that was around me and that I was part of it. And as I rode, with the warm autumn sun on my face and a chilly wind to my back, there was nowhere else I wanted to be but there.

It was a beautiful day...at least for those few moments.