The Sky Bike is a bike that runs along a trapeze rope. One sits on the bike and can pedal up and down the rope, swaying from side to side. There is a 250-pound counterbalance underneath the bike which keeps the rider from completely falling off of the rope.
I noticed an interesting point when Glo and Mark rode separately. It seemed that there are two ways to ride the Sky Bike. You can "fight" the lean the whole trip which is the natural thing to do. As the bike leans towards the ground four stories below, it feels natural to want to lean the other way. This act of leaning in the opposite direction eventually steadies the bike so that the rider is simply going straight up and down the rope. (See the photo of Glo.) Glo spent most of the time on the bike just trying not to lean to either side and eventually she was successful, getting the bike to ride straight.
The other option is to go with the lean. It's a terrifying prospect, pushing the bike further sideways, but by doing so, the rider enables the counterbalance which
keeps the rider safe. (See the photo of Mark.) Although Mark looked terrified at times, I can guarantee that he had more fun and truly enjoyed the ride.
As I was sitting in fast and testimony meeting today in church, I realized that the Sky Bike is a fantastic metaphor for life. By living, we are riding the Sky Bike through our lives. We are perched precariously on a rope. Heavenly Father gives us trials in our lives and we begin to swing from side to side. We have two options: either we can fight the trial and complain about it and wonder exactly why it is happening to us, or, we can go with the trial and recognize that there are things to be learned from it. Thankfully, our Savior is the counterbalance. Through our trial, we can trust that he will help us stay on the rope, and if we are smart, we will use the Atonement to relieve us of some of the burdens of the trial.
Since I moved to Pennsylvania, I have certainly been fighting the lean, wondering exactly why we are "stuck" here. However, over the last year, I've tried to not fight it, and I've tried to focus my energies instead on what is good. I've learned that the journey through life for me right now is more fun when I enjoy the lean.
So riding the Sky Bike really was scary, and not to toot my own horn, but it took a lot of guts to go with the lean! You might think its no big deal, but once you're actually on the bike, it gets pretty scary! For example. I was thinking I would give my mom a double thumbs-up when I was tilting, making it look really cool. However, once I started leaning, taking my hands off the handles was not an option!(: It was really scary! However, the experience I will never forget, and I really enjoyed going with my dear mother and sister to that cool museum!
ReplyDeleteMan, Mommy, it is incredible the way you are able to bring that kind of thing and tie it into the church. It's really cool. Today was our stake conference, and I went early to go practice with the stake choir. It's rather amazing, but we had six tenors, when at every other rehearsal there had been two. One of them got up in priesthood two weeks ago and told everyone that they needed tenors, and apparently it worked, because four more of us showed up! We sounded really good, which was awesome.
ReplyDeleteBishop Edgley, the first counselor in the General Bishopric, was there as well. It was cool, because I got there early, we were walking up to the stake center as he and the stake president were getting out of the car, so we got to meet him and shake his hand! It was especially meaningful because after the meeting, he had to leave immediately, so many people only got to hear him speak. He gave a great talk about missionary work, and how we, as members, need to help the missionaries find people to preach the gospel to. Thankfully, I didn't have to give the little thought I had prepared about the Book of Mormon, because two members of the newly called stake young womens presidency, a young woman going on her mission, and two members of the stake presidency spoke. It was really good. Afterwards I went with the GW and Georgetown kids and ate lunch and hung out at the Barlow Center.
What an absolutely perfect Sabbath day, Cheese! I guess you could bear testimony to the fact that being early to events can be a HUGE blessing. Meeting a general authority and shaking his hand in the middle of Washington DC? I don't think it gets much better than that.
ReplyDeleteJust a heads up: our choir is singing in church next Sunday, and it's a piece that we can't sing. I volunteered you to learn and sing either the bass or tenor line--whichever Sister Koide needs. So glad I have such an able AND talented boy :-)