Inertia

Each significant injury I incur is a harsh reminder that the world not only moves unrelentingly fast, but that it is willing to leave behind those who can’t keep up. Deadlines have no care for broken bones. Project managers are too caught up in the maelstrom of bonuses and performance reviews to consider empathy.

Every one of my daily chores is taking longer to complete, but I find some solace in moving slow. I needed to slow down and catch my breath. If it takes five minutes to throw a shirt on, so be it. If it takes an extra ten minutes to prepare a coffee, there is no loss on my inner wellbeing. It is only external forces that weigh.

Today, according to the forecast, is likely the final warm day of the year. I hope to spend some of it outside.

I’m thinking about my initial inclination to change my cycling habits, and my thoughts of selling my bike. As much as my logical mind believes that to be a good idea, my emotional mind fights back. I think of Robert Marchand, the Frenchman who rode a bicycle beyond age 100. I just need to be vigilant and gain a little skill.

I also think about Christopher Nolan’s Batman films, particularly The Dark Knight Rises.

In an epic fight, Bane crushes Batman’s body and soul. Batman’s back breaks and he is left imprisoned, with little hope of ever escaping. It’s Batman’s memory of his past that gets him out of it. “Why do we fall?” He is asked as a child when he almost fatally falls into a bat cave. The answer is obvious. And over time, he heals his back and climbs out of a prison that is considered impossible to escape.

It was a bicycle crash, and a nasty one. But I don’t think that it will prevent me from getting back on the bike.