The Allegory of the Bike Ride

On an unusually pleasant summer evening, our family decided to ride our bikes to the local grocery store for some ice cream. The hills along the two-mile journey undulate persistently.

My daughter (then 5 years old), excited on the way there, had a terrible time riding her bike up each hill on the way home. She cried and complained, occasionally climbing off her bike in protest, exclaiming "I can't do it!" I stayed with her while the others went on ahead. I encouraged her ("You're muscles are getting stronger!" "Look, we're almost to the top.") and gave her and her bike a little push every so often. When we finally completed the arduous ride home, she was tired, but quickly forgot her travails when she saw the ice cream awaiting her on the table.

This story has become my personal allegory. Often in life I start to climb a hill, but when the incline steepens, I want to give up. I close down, turn inward, and shout, "I can't do it!"

The fall of 2003 presented me with an especially steep hill, one I thought would finish me off. I had accomplished the goals I had set as a teenager (educated and married with children), but I couldn't find inner peace and happiness. Life seemed on the verge of crushing me.

That experience triggered a pursuit of inner peace and balance.

Like my daughter, I have received encouragement and gentle pushes up the hills. I have discovered methods to make it over the hills and back home. Some of these methods have come from medical professionals, others from spiritual teachers, and others from my own research--from yoga to meditation and stress management to gratitude, always with a measure of humor.

While I don't claim to be an expert or a replacement for a licensed professional, I want to share with you what has helped me.