Last week I was watching my wife’s little brother. I took the trucks off of an old skateboard of his and put them on a different deck. The screws were next to impossible to get out, but after about a month of staring at them I determined that I was going to finish the project. After drilling the screws out a bit I was able to finally get the trucks off of the old skateboard. It was good to finish the project and even better adjusting the trucks to the lad’s liking.
After he had tried his board for a bit, he suggested that I try. I had not attempted to ride a skateboard in a while and even when I had attempted to ride a skateboard in the past I would never have described myself as good. He grabbed my hands and rolled me along on the board for a while. I am sure that this was a ridiculous sight to anyone happening on the 9 year old boy helping the large 33 year old man along on a skateboard. It was amazing though. Suddenly my feet seemed to better understand what was going on. It was as if they had new, much better informed life. I am grateful to the boy for teaching me balance. To say that I was missing it only in the realm of skateboarding would be a lie, so I will not sit here pushing your leg. Rather let me say that I realized that everything that I have been missing has been a result of poor balance.
I am eager to use this calm, because rally balance leads to calm, within the practice of my art and my daily life. I already have felt much more relaxed and accepting of some of the changes that have been occurring within my life. The next day I finished a piece that I had been working on for a bit and the day after that I started another.
