Don't just live the length of your life - live the width of it as well.
Diane AckermanRead
When I go biking, I repeat a mantra of the day's sensations: bright sun, blue sky, warm breeze, blue jay's call, ice melting and so on. This helps me transcend the traffic, ignore the clamorings of work, leave all the mind theaters behind and focus on nature instead. I still must abide by the rules of the road, of biking, of gravity. But I am mentally far away from civilization. The world is breaking someone else's heart.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses the author's use of biking as a way to connect with and escape into nature, while momentarily leaving behind the stresses of everyday life.
In this quote, Diane Ackerman reflects on how biking allows her to immerse herself in the natural world, using a mantra to focus on the beauty and sensations around her. By embracing these experiences, she finds mental freedom from the chaos of civilization, suggesting that nature offers solace and a deeper connection to life, despite the realities of rules and gravity that come with biking.
Themes
BikingNatureMindfulnessEscapeFreedom
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about the importance of connecting with nature.
More from Diane Ackerman
All quotes →We try to exile ourselves more and more from nature - not always consciously: We build houses; we dismiss nature; nature has to be outside, because we're inside. God forbid something like a cockroach comes inside, or some dust.
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We ogle plants and animals up close on television, the Internet and in the movies. We may not worship the animals we see, but we still regard them as necessary physical and spiritual companions. Technological nature can't completely satisfy that yearning.
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Because IQ tests favor memory skills and logic, overlooking artistic creativity, insight, resiliency, emotional reserves, sensory gifts, and life experience, they can't really predict success, let alone satisfaction.
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American writer_x000D_ _x000D_ 1803-1882_x000D_ _x000D_ Play is our brain's favorite way of learning.
Diane AckermanRead
In rare moments of deep play, we can lay aside our sense of self, shed time's continuum, ignore pain, and sit quietly in the absolute present, watching the world's ordinary miracles. No mind or heart hobbles. No analyzing or explaining. No questing for logic. No promises. No goals. No relationships. No worry. One is completely open to whatever drama may unfold.
Diane AckermanRead
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