A point of perfect balance

The other day I was riding my bike along the bike path and I had to slow down to go around some people. As I was cruising at ultra low speed, I felt perfectly balanced, completely content and at home. No anxiety about possibly falling over despite the low speed. It was a novel experience and it got me reflecting on when I first learned to ride a bike as a kid. This was a painful, slow and frustrating experience. I don't retain very many early childhood memories, but I have a glimmer of that instant when, contrary to all of my expectations and all my experience, I was suddenly balanced on the bike and cruising down the street. How awesome a gift of the person who taught me! That person was my Dad, and that moment I experienced just the other day would never have been possible without the patience and kindness he showed me in teaching me.

Motivated by my reflections, I posted the following to Facebook that evening:

 My Dad and I may not see eye to eye, but I am grateful to him for 
1. teaching me to read
2. teaching me to ride my bike
3. teaching me to drive
4. helping to instill in me a love for mathematics
The first three all seemed interminable and frustrating as I went through them, but that moment when I finally mastered each of them was quite satisfying. I doubt I would have had the patience to put up with me as a student.

Indeed, he showed similar determination and patience in teaching me to read and to drive. These are, without question, immensely beneficial skills to have.

Regular readers of my blog may know that I have had issues with my Dad and may be wondering about the change of tone of this post. Both sides are true. He was a source of immense pain during the very impressionable formative years of my life, but he has also been a source of immense benefit. It's good to be able to see both sides.

Some short poems I wrote earlier this year

June 26, 2015
Enlightenment reveals itself in an
unexpected patch of brown fur
as the cat's legs move while she cleans herself.
Nothing complicated.
Just that.

July 8, 2015
Melancholy filled the space of my mind.
I was startled to see it punctured by two magpies.

July 12, 2015
The rhythm of a dream.
Eyes open.
The cawing of a crow.

July 14, 2015
Three times arising to consciousness.
The initial sensation a tingling on the face.
The third time, I saw the fly.