I was asked, “Why do you ride; why do you sail”? In that moment I answered “Because I enjoy riding and sailing”. I realised at once the inadequacy of my answer, but failed to offer anything better.
Occasionally the brain is a little slow to offer the mouth a considered truth. Once the moment has passed, it becomes of no importance to anyone else. However, the two most prominent joys in my life deserve better recognition. An inadequate answer which flies away on the wind, or falls like an autumn leaf to become an anonymous and insignificant part of the detritus upon which we walk; but which is pertinent to something magnificent and grand, still, can never be resurrected.
I want to give a worthwhile answer to the question which reverberates in my mind, just in case there is a certain latency among others which may be interrupted and perhaps stimulated by a considered truth that has deep personal meaning.
The path which I have followed for many years is unimportant to anyone except to me. My reasons for journeying along this path may be similarly unimportant and have no consequences for anyone else. But then again, there may be a resonance which elicits a nod of the head, a knowing smile or indeed a revelation which could cause just one person to re-evaluate their own direction.
I sail and I ride as often as I possibly can and do either one or the other of each, every day of my life because:
Tomorrow is promised to no one.
I wish to spend my life, living!
It inspires my friends.
And, adrenaline is better than coffee, booze or drugs.