Posted by Joe Taylor on Fri, Jul 10, 2009
Easy Riding: Put Your Attention on the Destination - not on the Obstacle
By Sharon Ramey
Several years ago, my husband convinced me to take the Motorcycle Training Course with him. He's been riding motorcycles since he was 13 and is very skilled. But due to a few incidents like the one in Cancun involving a motor scooter and a hedge, I am what one would call "motorcycle-challenged."
In this course, however, great life teachings emerged, the most memorable being the advice to look where you want to go and not at the obstacle in the road. Although logical enough, the instructor spent a great deal of time on this concept. Apparently, when novice riders see an obstacle that they understandably want to avoid, such as a sharp drop-off between the road's edge and the shoulder, or a pothole, or a piece of lumber that just fell off a truck, the rider becomes almost mesmerized by this obstacle, thinking, "I must avoid this, I can't hit this, please don't let me collide..." and, you guessed it, there is a high incidence of catastrophe!
The instructor repeated time and time again "Take your eyes off the obstacle, and look where you want to go instead." I experienced the wisdom of this first hand as I took my motorcycle through an opening between two rubber cones. In my earnestness to avoid hitting one of the cones, I couldn't think about anything else. Yup, I hit the cone! (And fell down!) Instead of extending sympathy for my disgrace and pain, my instructor repeated "Focus on where you want to go and you will go there, naturally, avoiding the pitfall easily and automatically."
I'm convinced that motorcycle training is the same as "Life Training!" Ernest Holmes, who was a great life trainer, captured the concept in these words: "The quick and effectual way to eliminate anything you do not want is to disregard it and turn your attention and interest to what is directly opposite."
Sounds easy, yet how often do we get mesmerized by our fears, and consequently lose sight of our intentions? We see "potholes" threatening to destroy our chance for prosperity, or joy, or love. Yet, our focused attention on those potholes produces a "pothole experience." Ouch!
Today, take a Life Lesson from that life teacher-extraordinaire, the motorcycle instructor! If you see an obstacle on your path, acknowledge it, and consciously turn your attention away from it, seeing again where you intend to go. Often, with little or no extra effort, life gets easier as you go where you intend with ease.
Sharon Ramey is a staff minister at the Center for Spiritual Living in Seattle, Washington, with a focus on business and prosperity.