Shaken, Not Stirred!

My day has been slow to start today as I hobble about the place like an old man after my cycling accident last night that left me black and blue all over and a little bloodied, more shocking to the eye at the time than serious in reality. Now it seems to have taken it out of me as I ache all over and feel subdued by the experience.

What was strange about the experience was how I felt and what happened leading up to the accident. I was not particularly tired and hadn’t been drinking and yet just one or two hundred metres before where I crashed I nearly came off my bike while taking a short cut across some coarse open land. I managed to avoid a problem after a bit of a struggle and with hindsight it was as if I was destined to have an accident, come what may; having thwarted one accident I quickly fell into another yet I cannot say I had been particularly shaken by the earlier events. I travel this particular route often and have always felt and been safe and somehow this was different and is somewhat a haze of memory and feelings. I have no idea whether my interpretation of events has any basis in reality but all I know is that it felt odd, strangely inevitable.

I have come to trust that most things in life happen for a reason and if this accident points to anything, it is for me to slow down and take things easy, not to “peddle too fast” in life generally. In the last 2 weeks I have been doing quite a bit of legal work and I sense a need to pause and my accident has certainly forced me to do just that. All there is to do is to go with the flow, to accept the situation and take it easy. Other than the indulgence of writing this blog entry and then briefly helping my partner set up his stall at the famous Chiang Mai Sunday Street Market, I intend taking a dose of whatever takes my fancy, be it listening to music, watching television, meditating or whatever.

Still feeling shaken by my accident, tranquillity feels like the ideal remedy for my condition and the very prospect of it somewhat soothes me. A little loving kindness to myself and some patience regarding my healing will go a long way. After all, tomorrow is another day and I am learning not to force things when I am under the weather as that goes against the flow and flies in the face of good sense, when all else points to slowing down.