A reminder...

From the Buddhist perspective on time and existence, the only thing that exists, the only thing we can ever "have" is this moment. This one. Right now. Anything else is just thinking arising from the mind, and can only serve to distract us from reality.

So when the sun burst through the early a.m. fog, and blue skies started appearing, it was time to 'do' not time to 'think.' I got Julian dressed and we scooted out the door in a kind of jubilant excitement. We were halfway to Higgins Ave before I even really formulated a thought about what we were doing. Our movement was natural, instinctive, and immediate. The sirens' call of the sun, the sky, the mountains. And before we knew it, we were in the woods.

Something just feels right about walking amidst these towering trees.

Even we were walking on the shoulder of a paved road,
it was mostly covered in snow anyways.

At this point we had climbed about 750 feet up Pattee Canyon, and my copilot was beginning to look a little antsy.

I think he is done sitting.

Fortunately, we were right next to the Crazy Canyon TH... so we parked the bike and wandered a bit. Well... I wandered a bit. Julian went tearing off into the woods with a definite purposefulness.

He says, "That way, Dad!"

I have mentioned before that this kid loves to be in the woods, and loves to run. Today, I fell behind. Here he is, enjoying every second of his time up here with hardly a second thought, and I'm taking pictures and thinking of my blog. He's better at staying "only in this moment" sometimes than me. I plead temporary insanity, and admit my desire to share this scene, one of the prettiest outdoor photos I've taken in months.

Forest. Blue skies. Sunlight.

We hiked up the trail a bit and turned back when we could no longer see the parking lot. The sun was in and out, and the wind was beginning to pick up. I managed a shot of Julian at the turn around point in the last of the sunlight.

This is one happy kid.

Back to the bikes, and time for a little snack. Walnut oatmeal raisin Clif Bars are really quite good. Julian ate his piece, we talked about sharing, and then he began foraging around on the forest floor.

"What's this?" Some fresh, green, spongy lichen.

Time to roll. The descent down the canyon was cold. It wasn't cold out, but the wind had shifted around, so our ground speed in addition to the wind speed was producing some bitter windchill. We emerged from the canyon and got back on the riverfront trail where there was some shelter from the wind, faces red, and fingers numb. Crossing the river, I spotted some ducks, and Julian started pointing out more of them, until I think we had individually identified every duck on the river.

Ducks.

By the time we started towards home, it was windy, cold and gray. Julian wasn't so thrilled about being outside anymore, and I was beginning to feel slightly underdressed. I reminded myself that I had been chasing the sun into the forest, climbing in a t-shirt just an hour earlier. These moments underscore two very important points.

1. Mindfulness means more than thinking about the present moment. It means really being aware of that moment, and what your correct function is at that moment. 

2. He who hesitates is lost.