I spent the morning writing about how creative expression requires no effort--that energy without effort is the key to unlocking the door to freedom. In the afternoon, I decided to run some errands. I bought a bicycle last week and needed to get a lock and helmet. I thought about riding the bicycle to the bicycle store which is only blocks from my house, but the weather was unseasonably sweltering and I was reluctant to get sweaty and after twenty minutes of: drive, bike, don't consume resources, it's way too hot to pedal, you need the exercise--I grabbed my keys and took off in the car.
A young woman with spiky black hair and big slanted brown eyes and khaki pants rolled up at the cuff fitted the helmet to my head, adjusting the straps with an expert's touch. I confessed to her, because she seemed kind and like someone who probably had given her car away to a non-profit and now biked everywhere, that I wasn't confident I would actually ever ride the shiny new bicycle that was now parked and ready on my patio, confessed that I might never find it convenient or have the inclination.
"It isn't a question of convenience or inclination," she said. "It's a question of force. Then you get accustomed to it and you ride all the time." 
I realized she was right. Until you get used to it, you have to force yourself, you have to make up your mind to ride that bicycle, and just do it--the same way you make up your mind to get up for a minute and dance or to burst into song in the car or to write poetry on a café napkin or draw designs on window panes. And then you fall in love with the whole experience and don't have to force yourself anymore. Then it's a question of love.

nina@ninawise.com

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