Do Your Thing

Today was bikers' day all around our area. The sun was shining, the weather was moderate (at least this morning), and the bikers were riding...Harleys, Hondas, Yamahas, choppers. They were mostly men, ranging from a few 25-year-olds to a large number of 50/60-year-olds. I looked at the men with graying hair and pot bellies and bucket helmets, and my first thought was, "Grow up." Then I remembered that I'm sixty with a pot belly, too. And, if I wanted to ride a bike on a beautiful day, I would do just that.

So, now I'm saying to myself and everyone else, "Do your thing no matter how it appears to others." Now I'm not advocating violence or crime or even gentle abuse (an oxymoron?), but I am advocating that we cast aside our worries about what others will think of us and do the things that please us. Most of the people whose opinion we truly value would agree with this, and the others don't matter. That old lady driving down the road watching your pot belly wiggle or your cellulite jiggle is not your concern, even if she is your mother. Let her get a life - a life that doesn't include criticizing you for what you appear to be or what you are doing.

I'm going to wave at the next set of bikers who come down my road with their rattling, purring, and reverberating noises. And, I hope they will wave back at this old lady bending over pulling weeds out of her flower bed and showing the world just how broad her backside really is.