Medusa

Do you listen to the radio program, "This I Believe"? Based on a 1950's radio program of the same name, Americans from all walks of life share the personal philosophies and core values that guide their lives. You can hear features from the program here.

I believe that my motorcycle is heaven-sent. Without it, I don't know how I would be dealing my depression. With all the distractions and interruptions we are assaulted by during the day, it is easy to understand why people don't take the time to be kind to each other or pay attention to what is happening around them. Riding to the dojo on a Friday afternoon, lane sharing feels like trying to find my way among the snakes of Medusa's hair.

Expecting to get bit on the butt by a lane-snake at any moment, my weapons are an extending awareness and single-mindedness. No distractions allowed, no musing about something that didn't go well today, no movies about "what if..." Just the traffic, just the road, just riding the bike. It is still tiring to ride in heavy traffic but when I get to the dojo, I've had more than an hour of focused silence suffused in a feeling of vitality.

Motorcycles: Medicine for Menopause, how's that for a book title? Unfortunately there's no work being done on a book based on this blog. I can deal with the hot flashes, but a side effect of the depression medication is that my brain waves are acting like a sonic repellent - the writing muse is keeping her distance. Even if I can't write right now, I keep riding.

"... in most traditions faith is not about belief, but about practice. What is important is doing the things that change us. It is a moral aesthetic, an ethical alchemy. If we behave in a certain way, we can be transformed. My quest started out wondering about truth and the meaning of life. What I understand now is that life is about living intensely as possible here and now." - Karen Armstrong, "The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness"

I believe that it was no accident that I started riding just as I entered perimenopause. I'll ride out this life-transition on my beautiful GS - a two-wheeled intensity field generator.

Why am I talking about these topics that would have been unmentionable a generation ago? I know it makes some of you uncomfortable, but talking about it will break the taboo. I want the young women in the dojo to be as matter of fact about menopause as they are about voting. I would like to demystify this female life-process for men. I want to remove the stigma of depression and make it as acceptable as getting the flu. My understanding is that 99% of depression types are treatable. I understand "crabby old ladies" now, I am one when I'm not managing my serotonin levels properly. So be kind to crabby middle-aged and old ladies, especially the ones on motorcycles.