What motivates you? Is it a sense of accomplishment? Money? The boss? Whatever it is, there are reasons behind our actions. For some, just seeing the sun shining in the morning is enough to get them to hop out of bed. For others, it’s that third cup of coffee or the pressure to pay the bills. But no matter what, there’s always something.
The five precious weeks in the summer I spend on Cape Cod is all the motivation I need to get out there and bike AND blade along the beautiful Cape Cod Canal. This daily ritual comes before or after a yoga class, writing, running errands, doing household projects, client work, or babysitting my niece and nephew. The constant movement, the constant in and out of the car, the constant running around an eleven-room house is enjoyable for me.
A good day in our family has always been measured by productivity. Not that there isn’t down time, there is, but even when I’m in motion, I try to make it fun. By finding a way to make something fun, or at least bearable, makes life more pleasant. James Taylor sings, “The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.” And while JT is constantly playing on itunes or in my head, I take that lesson to heart. My mother says I make doing even errands or cleaning out a closet fun. And why not?
Eke’ing out the most from every day is my goal. And as long as it’s light out, I see it as having more time to accomplish more things.
Yesterday after my parents finished work I said, “Get in the car, we’re going to the canal.” It was just before sunset when my father and I got on our bikes and my mother began her walk. The temperature was still hot; the breeze calm off the water, and at one point as we cruised along, there was no one in sight.
“How can the path be empty?” I said. “You’d think everyone would want to be here.”
“Maybe they weren’t motivated enough,” my dad said. No doubt he was right.
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