Rides, ramblings and rants on a motorcycle.
- We are scientists, too!
7.30.2008,8:15 AM
Minds in Motion
And now, a word from our sponsor.
When I am not sitting on a motorcycle, my mind is. What does that mean? Let's just say, I'm in constant motion. Walking, running, riding, typing, breathing, singing, thinking. Even sleeping, my dreams take me places.
No, I don't have ADHD. I'm just human.
A comment the other day paralleled a train of thought that has surfaced from time to time, wondering, observing, questioning.
A fellow rider wrote: "One of my favorite sayings, when I see someone on TV moaning about some minor problem in their life is: 'If there was a lion chasing you, you wouldn't have that problem.' A lot of our supposed ills are simply because we aren't challenged enough in our day to day lives. We evolved to be active and fighting for our survival. It's no wonder that people who get regular exercise and stay active are healthy at an advanced age, and people who take the path of least resistance are bloated and unhealthy at 60."
Exactly. Unchallenged -physically and mentally. Especially creatively. So we invent 'things' to amuse us and occupy our time. Or lose ourselves in television shows and personalities.
I have wondered if that is part of the appeal of riding a bike (or fast truck, boat, or weightlifting, playing sports, or.....): motion.
We may not be birds, but our bodies -physiology and psychology- evolved with motion an integral part of our lives: running, walking, moving from place to place. Movement not only provides physical stimulation but also psychological stimulation: of the senses, thought processes, etc. *
We evolved around movement. We had to be keenly aware of our surroundings, our environment, to satisfy our needs and survive. Our senses were, just as they are today, the information gatherers directing the brain and body. Our movement was, is, closely tied to our environment; natural and what we construct around us.
But no more do our daily lives revolve around the Four F's (fight, flight, feed and mate; yes, this is a scientific acronym except the last F is usually substituted with a more PC word).
With modern technology and industry supplying us with almost everything to survive with so little effort, those needs (probably evolved as by products of adaptation in our early evolution) are satisfied with drama (unnecessary situations created to occupy time and stimulate mental exercise), trinkets and toys. But are they?
One way to satisfy those primitive needs is riding a motorcycle. Or boat. Plane. Car...... Some of us still run occasionally. It provides physical and mental stimulation. In many ways.
Anyway, that's my hypothesis.
* This can be extended into the role of dance, or some type of organized body movement, even religious treks to meccas. Body movement in some form or another has been a part of our culture since written and oral history, perhaps even before: ritual dances, marches, orchestrated individual and group (social) movement. Think about the effects on the mind, psychologically. Now extend that to group rides, Meet and Greets, solo long-distance touring, etc. Or the spontaneous drive to get on the bike and ride to nowhere.
When I am not sitting on a motorcycle, my mind is. What does that mean? Let's just say, I'm in constant motion. Walking, running, riding, typing, breathing, singing, thinking. Even sleeping, my dreams take me places.
No, I don't have ADHD. I'm just human.
A comment the other day paralleled a train of thought that has surfaced from time to time, wondering, observing, questioning.
A fellow rider wrote: "One of my favorite sayings, when I see someone on TV moaning about some minor problem in their life is: 'If there was a lion chasing you, you wouldn't have that problem.' A lot of our supposed ills are simply because we aren't challenged enough in our day to day lives. We evolved to be active and fighting for our survival. It's no wonder that people who get regular exercise and stay active are healthy at an advanced age, and people who take the path of least resistance are bloated and unhealthy at 60."
Exactly. Unchallenged -physically and mentally. Especially creatively. So we invent 'things' to amuse us and occupy our time. Or lose ourselves in television shows and personalities.
I have wondered if that is part of the appeal of riding a bike (or fast truck, boat, or weightlifting, playing sports, or.....): motion.
We may not be birds, but our bodies -physiology and psychology- evolved with motion an integral part of our lives: running, walking, moving from place to place. Movement not only provides physical stimulation but also psychological stimulation: of the senses, thought processes, etc. *
We evolved around movement. We had to be keenly aware of our surroundings, our environment, to satisfy our needs and survive. Our senses were, just as they are today, the information gatherers directing the brain and body. Our movement was, is, closely tied to our environment; natural and what we construct around us.
But no more do our daily lives revolve around the Four F's (fight, flight, feed and mate; yes, this is a scientific acronym except the last F is usually substituted with a more PC word).
With modern technology and industry supplying us with almost everything to survive with so little effort, those needs (probably evolved as by products of adaptation in our early evolution) are satisfied with drama (unnecessary situations created to occupy time and stimulate mental exercise), trinkets and toys. But are they?
One way to satisfy those primitive needs is riding a motorcycle. Or boat. Plane. Car...... Some of us still run occasionally. It provides physical and mental stimulation. In many ways.
Anyway, that's my hypothesis.
* This can be extended into the role of dance, or some type of organized body movement, even religious treks to meccas. Body movement in some form or another has been a part of our culture since written and oral history, perhaps even before: ritual dances, marches, orchestrated individual and group (social) movement. Think about the effects on the mind, psychologically. Now extend that to group rides, Meet and Greets, solo long-distance touring, etc. Or the spontaneous drive to get on the bike and ride to nowhere.
Labels: musings
