a healthy life will have crap in it

Today marks eleven months since Bill died.
I did something, that out of respect to him and a desire to honor and please him, I would not have done if he was still here.
I went on a motorcycle ride.
My first.

Don't get me wrong,
Bill was not an ogre and I did not ride out of rebellion.
When Bill worked for his dad he cleaned up mangled remains after accidents which colored his view of bikes.
And I had ridden one before, but not gone on a ride.

For three hours this was my view-

Thank you Ron and Anita.

This is what I took away from that time:

One of the roads was the same one I travelled Sunday in my car
but the ride was very different.
It required a different skill set,
a different kind of strength,
a different kind of balance.

I could not help but draw parallels to what life is now-
I am still traveling the road of life,
but it takes some additional skills,
a different kind of strength,
and I am finding a new balance.

Death has made me more aware of life:
of the trust required to navigate safely
of the bumps in the road
of the possibility of danger
of the need to take chances
of beauty 
of the smell of life
   (today in fresh cut grass)
of the smell of death
    (today from decomposing road kill)

I was 
more exposed
more vulnerable
more aware
of sights
of smells
of the heat from the sun beating down
the relief provided by the breeze
and the pleasantness of shaded areas.

We passed 
many different homes
     some large
     some small
     some inhabited
     some abandoned
it made me wonder what happened to the neglected ones.

We saw grazing cows-
it was a peaceful scene
and as I caught a faint whiff,
it occurred to me that where there is healthy life
there is bound to be crap.
What I focus on is my choice
and it will affect my view and enjoyment of this journey.