People are still paying me
I don’t get it.
I know nothing about what it’s like to be them. How could I? Sure I’ve had some ‘training’ as a therapist but training has very little to do with reality.
Despite this?
People come to me and ask me to help them understand themselves better.
What fools!
Whatever.
They pay me. I try.
Yesterday while walking the wrong way on 261, my client commented on Zeke’s trail signs.
They’re there because there are a lot of people who think it’s more fun to ride uphill than go down. That’s a problem. These trails were built to go down, not up. There’s a perfectly good uphill trail that’s an easier climb. These are made for jumping.
My client paused:
You mean that your friends have made illegal trails on private land and they have the nerve to dictate how they get ridden on a bike?
Yup.
I continued:
We like gravity. It’s fun to bounce around and jump. Other people like grinding uphill more than jumping. So in addition to putting everyone at risk by riding up a trail we could be riding down really fast, they fill in the gaps on the jumps in order to facilitate their version of fun.
She confessed that she was not much of a ‘gravity sport person’. That requires letting go and flowing with things. I’d be afraid of crashing. Not enough control for me. Also? Those gaps aren’t safe. I’d fill them in too - out of fear that someone might get hurt.
Right then and there all her struggles became clear to me.
You’d rather grind uphill and push yourself through pain then experience the thrill of falling. You can’t let go. You love control and what I’m most curious about, is how you ruin everything by filling in the gaps.
A tear formed.
Then some sobs.
Then she glared at me.
What?
I shrugged.
Your words. Not mine. It’s interesting though - how we approach play sure can reveal a lot about who we are.
26 is an unsanctioned mountain bike trail near me. It’s after 25 and before 27 on the 24 line.