Life is like...
- Jun 2, 2019
- 2 min read
Every now and then my mother will post something on Facebook that I know she posted for me; to get my attention or to generate some sort of witty or thoughtful response. These post usually consist of three types: quotes from GK Chesterton, commonly-held beliefs that are calling out for a challenge, or bicycle related content.
This week, she posted this bike-related quote:
As you may likely know, Charles M. Schultz was the cartoonist who created The Peanuts. The quote my mother posted on May 31, 2019 was first published in the Peanuts comic strip on May 29, 1981.
Among the Peanuts, Charlie Brown is the lovable loser. Lucy is the know-it-all bully. Snoopy is emotional and imaginative. But, when Schultz had something profound to say about life, he gave those words to Linus. Linus is the deep-thinker, the theologian, the Peanuts philosopher.
This is really a beautiful strip - until the final square. Linus is encouraging Snoopy. He is inviting Snoopy to recognize something about himself that is greater than the beagle has ever seen before.
"You got this Snoopy! You don't think you do - but you do. Somewhere deep inside you is an ability and strength you've never used before, but it's there. I believe in you!"
However, in common Peanuts form, the final square of the strip is dark. Snoopy rejects the invitation to be great and appears to resign himself to his common life and strength.
Don't be like Snoopy.
I don't know what you are struggling with, but I do know you have gears you aren't using. You have a hidden strength that is waiting to be called upon. You have talent that needs to be released. You have abilities to be explored. I believe in you.
I have a few more thoughts about Schultz's bicycle metaphor:
Cross-chaining
Yes, you have gears you aren't using. But there are also gears you shouldn't be using!
Cross-chaining is when you’re in your big chainring and the biggest cog on your back cassette, or on your small chainring and your smallest cog. The problem is that this stretches your chain diagonally to its limits.
So, just like in life, even though you can, doesn’t mean you should use every gear you have.
Single Speed
My wife recently bought for me a new bike to ride during the days I work in Lansing. It is a simple, single-speed bike. That means it has no gears at all. Simplicity. If you pedal the bike moves.
While Schultz will tell you that you have untapped strength and abilities - extra gears, a single-speed bike tells you to focus on one thing - enjoy the ride.
Freedom follows simplicity.
What "gears" do you have available to you, but you know are not beneficial for you?
What "gears" can you live without?
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