Finding Freedom From Fixtures

After recently taking a workshop with Marylee Fairbanks (http://maryleefairbanks.com/) I have decided to begin my own "24 Things" challenge (http://maryleefairbanks.com/24-things/). The rules are simple: each day for 24 days you let go of something that has been cluttering up your house, something that no longer serves you, objects that will be better suited at a yard sale, donation box, or in a trash barrel. During the 24 day release, one should only purchase necessities-- food, medical care, etc. All other material desires should be added to an ongoing list. If you are able to remember the items on your list at the end of the 24 days, then you are free to purchase them, otherwise they are likely to have been unimportant. According to Marylee, "The clutter in our house reflects the clutter in our hearts." Are we clinging to mementos of past relationships? Unwanted gifts that we were too polite to turn away? Clothes that haven't fit for years? Objects that no longer reflect who we are currently in this ever-changing body and mind of ours? Are the things we surround ourselves with keeping us rooted in the past, preventing us from blossoming into the future? In order to invite abundance into our lives, we must eliminate the unnecessary clutter that surrounds us.

Although Marylee recommends four cycles, corresponding to the four seasons, of 24 Things each year, the timing of her most recent workshop and the significance of this period in my own life could not have been better. I will be beginning my solitary 24 Things today, April 29th exactly one year after my (ex) husband told me he was moving out. In exactly 24 days I will turn 28 years old. I cannot think of a better way to mark the end of a year of transformation and to usher in another year of abundance, love, and gratitude for this life that constantly challenges and inspires me.

"One good thing to remember when clearing out is this: If you have an object that makes the past feel more important than the future then you should let it go. The past is gone. Your present is all that need be nourished." ~Marylee Fairbanks

Monday, May 27, 2013

Day 29: Bike Helmet

After working at a major hospital in Boston for a year, my husband was offered a position as a bike cop--a job the security company he worked for created solely for him. They sent him to a week long course in aggressive bike riding. Even though he hadn't been on a bike since childhood, he was a natural at stunt driving. He was told he would need a bike helmet, so he purchased the white one pictured to the left. The foam inserts are still ensconced in the unopened plastic bag-- he never even bothered to fit it to his head, let alone wear it during the bike class or after when he became a bike security guard.

He learned to take tight corners at excessive speeds, ride up and down stairs, jump over obstacles, anything you might imagine a city bike patrolman to encounter. His fearlessness served him well and he soon became a legend after a fellow security guard witnessed him in mid-chase and spread the story around the hospital. His friend told of how he came pedaling from around the corner in wild pursuit. When he caught up to the person he jumped off his bike to continue on foot to tackle and restrain. According to legend, the bike continued on in a steady path and neatly parked itself along a stone pole. 

Just before he was offered the position and sent to the defensive driving class, a friend of mine from my job at the Chevy dealership discovered that I had never learned to ride a bike and offered to give me the mountain bike that was collecting dust in her basement. We barely crammed it into the trunk of my Cobalt so I could take it home and clean it off. Once clean and reassembled it looked gigantic and intimidating to me. I had flashbacks to the time when I tried to learn to ride a bike at seven. My mother's best friend gave us her sixteen year old daughter's bike. I had to climb up onto the front steps to mount it. Without training wheels and unable to even dream of reaching the ground while stradeling the bike, I couldn't move it a foot without falling flat to the side.

My husband took my new-to-me bike on the training course and complained that it wasn't sophisticated enough for his needs. I pointed out the fact that it was meant for me, a first time learner, and not someone doing back flips over baby carriages. After his class, with new zest and knowledge, he came with me as I pushed the bike to an empty lot a mile from our house. After hours of attempts, I was able to ride in a straight line from one end of the lot to another. I wasn't yet ready for circles and shuddered at the thought of taking it to the sidewalk, so close to the street where I'd surely fall to my early death. 

So that I wouldn't have to get up at 5 AM everyday to drive him to work, he started riding my bike the mile to the train station and locking it up during the day.  I can't remember why he left the bike overnight-- it might have been that he went out drinking after work and spent the night sleeping at the hospital-- but the next day when he returned to the bike rack it had gone missing. For weeks after, I'd stare at the bike rack when I dropped him off or picked him up, hoping that it would suddenly return or that it'd been there all along.

He did buy me a new bike for my birthday that year, but I was reluctant to take it out alone and he never had time to go with me. Last summer, after he left, I decided it was finally time to learn. I pushed the bike to the empty school parking lot a block from my house and rode in circles for hours with a three year old on a tricycle. I returned to the lot until I'd built up enough confidence to ride out of the parking lot and onto the sidewalk. I took it out all through the summer, loving the feeling of the wind in my face as I pushed the pedals and proved you are never too old to learn and begin again.
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