Cruisin together

Do you ever have a dream to just cruise away? 

To hit the road and chillin’ to Smokey Robinson, you glide into the sunset? 

So perhaps you get on that getaway. And suddenly:

• You get an urgent text from a family member that requires your full attention. 

• You get a flat tire.

• The wind is blowing so hard, that it’s more like running against the wind.

Earlier this week, I took a last minute getaway to Florida and in fact all these things happened:

• A family member got a piece of mail that alerted me to identity theft.

• I was driving past the West Palm Beach Airport and suddenly the car alerted me to low tire pressure.

• As I biked out of a wildlife preserve, it took full focus to pedal, the wind barreling down. 

All of these things could have tunneled me down into the antithesis of feeling like I was cruising away. 

Instead, I met these moments with gratitude: 

• Gratitude that I received these alerts and by the kindness of the support team on the phone.

• Gratitude that I was minutes from a rental car location, not somewhere in the midst of farmland with a flat tire. I could swap in the rental that had a pesky nail in a tire for a new car.

• Gratitude for the wind, as I would have been a baked potato in the heat without it! 

It felt like cruising even through some less than ideal situations.

As someone who does gratitude journaling every evening, I find it much easier when the going gets rough to find a touchstone for gratitude. 

It’s quite simple. I write down three things I am thankful for from that day in my journal that lays by my nightstand. 

Perhaps it doesn’t make the climb up the hill any less steep, but it makes the climb a little less bumpy. It’s an opportunity to learn something new and remind myself of my interdependence in this world. 

So thank you dear reader, for cruising along with Circle and Spoke! I’m curious how you are meeting today with an attitude of gratitude. Drop me a line at [email protected]! I’d love to witness what’s shaking over in your corner of the world.

Wheels up, 

Ellen 

PS- Registration is open for Circle and Spoke’s next event Ride & Reignite: A DC Birding & Biking Adventure  on Sunday, May 19th from 1:00- 3:45 pm starting in Cleveland Park in DC. We’ll be cruising together, to support you in slowing down from the hustle and bustle and to take in life without such a heavy load.