Capilene Long Johns
The mornings of riding our bicycles in short pants and sleeves are done and gone. We’ve consistently been greeted each dawn by 43-45 degree weather. Add in the speed of a bicycle, and we’ve got some additional wind chill to contend with.
And while outerwear is certainly important, it doesn’t compare to the importance of what’s inside the final layer:
Moisture wicking briefs and sport bra
Capilene long underwear – top and bottom
Under helmet skull cap with ear flaps
Yep, it’s what’s on the inside that really counts! This isn’t just true for outdoor sports; it’s true for life as well. You’ll recall that Ralph Waldo Emerson said:
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies with in us.”
What inside your outer layer?
“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
– Laurie Buchanan
Copyright © 2010 Laurie Buchanan — All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog post may be used in part, or in whole, without written permission from Laurie Buchanan.
Tuesdays with Laurie 
Infinity, past, present, future and you…
Gil – I always knew I liked your insides!
TMI!!! LOL
What inside your outer layer?
Mine are Polka Dot today! and also wearing a turtle neck under my sweater! along with love, gratfulness, peace and joy.
Oh and don’t forget you are well!
Kim – It’s a polka dot kinda day, isn’t it?!
You think this is TMI? I toyed with the idea of being in my long johns for the photo and then thought naaah.
Peddling with a purpose – regardless of weather… so well done for raising the bar for all of us, Laurie! This reminded me to be more aware of my inertia and willing to exercise and enjoy the ride in life adjusting the environment to me as cause over it.
Good morning Kathy – I’m sure glad you popped in! I see you’ve been very busy over on Architecting Life. You peddle too — you peddle Good Will.
Always good to protect ourselves from the outside in!
Jeff
Hi Jeff – I hope you have a wonderfully creative weekend planned from the inside, out 🙂
You in your long johns would be very mild with stuff I see nowadays!!!!
Kim – Me in my long johns today would be unbearable with this unexpected 87-degree heatwave treat!
Very good! I see that you are keeping up with the seasons of the year, especially when you have your long johns out or rather, in. It does give me a little chill thinking about it though, we are having beautiful Indian Summer here, in the 80’s this weekend. You, my good friend are as lovely on the inside as you are on the outside, thank you so much for the energy and support you sent to me during my surgery this week. You cannot imagine how much I have relied on that good energy to make such an outstanding recovery. You really go the distance Laurie, and I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate it!
Great to see your words again Sandi. Sending some loving and healing energy your way.
Arohanui
Ted
Hi, Ted! Well, what great surprises we are to ourselves! A tear ago I would not have bet a nickle on any of these remarkable things turning up in our fairly placid, laid-out-with-a-plan lives. Just goes to show what you can rise to if the need appears. Me and You, Buddy, we are survivors!
What’s inside my outer layer? The outer layer, in so many ways, is the face we’ve learned to share with the world. I think as we begin to grow, we often give ourselves permission to show more of what’s on the inner layer of ourselves. In other words, we’re not afraid to show ourselves in our bikinis… (oh no! I just got a visual of that one…OK, maybe I am still afraid to show you myself in a bikini, lol!)
Kathy – Your statement, “…the face we’ve learned to share with the world” is sadly accurate. Showing more of what’s on the inside (living transparently) is definitely the path that’s most appealing to me (but definitely not in a bikini) 🙂 I’m glad you stopped by, thank you.
Couldn’t agree with you more Laurie.
It seems to me that each of us has a small frightened child hiding deep within us, that told itself it was wrong to be how it was (because that is what it’s culture had taught it) and so it created the self aware ego to hide behind, to be what it thought it wasn’t.
But it was all a trick of language and culture (an illusion). The child was really OK as it was, and it needs to know that.
It is allowed to come out and play most of the time (or at least some of the time).
At another level, within each of us is a holographic model of the universe in which we live. Originally derived mostly from culture, and after a few decades, contemplation and personal intuitions can start to dominate the shape of the model.
The power of holographic storage and retrieval to relate and intuit things is amazing; unfortunate most of our cultural training (including most formal education) teaches us to ignore those intuitions in favour of methodologies – this is perhaps the biggest danger facing humanity at present. Methodologies have their place, mostly in testing intuitions, and no methodology can replace the creative power of intuition.
It seems to me that each of us is such an intensely personal mix of experiences and intuitions and choices, and at the same time, because of our shared cultural and genetic heritage, we are all vastly more alike than we are different.
It seems to me that the individual human being is vastly under valued in the cultural and economic systems that dominate this planet. We are abundant, and as money is a measure of scarcity value, we have little monetary value. That is perhaps the greatest danger buried deep within the incentive structure of our current dominant cultural paradigm (economics).
So yes – what is within is far more valuable than what is without, and we are each, potentially, infinitely creative, and infinitely loving, if we can just get past our own childish declarations to the contrary, and bring a little acceptance to all that is.
Arohanui
Ted
Ted – You have no idea how much I enjoyed reading your comments — it was like listening to a wonderful jig or reel that my toes tapped to! I loved when you said, “…unfortunate most of our cultural training (including most formal education) teaches us to ignore those intuitions in favour of methodologies – this is perhaps the biggest danger facing humanity at present.” Way to hit the nail squarely on the head! Are you and Ailsa back from your brief trip away? If yes, I hope it was an awesome time!
Okay, so I am a few days late in responding. Given that I run hot most of the time and sweat regardless of the temperature, I wear anything that dries out quickly . . . sometimes, that means nothing at all 😀
Cotton is a big no-no for me because cotton once it is wet weighs a ton and it holds on to that moisture as if it were manna from heaven. If I am running around a tennis court, I am dripping with sweat within 30 minutes, which is not a problem when the temperature is at least 75 or above. But once it falls below 75 degrees, I just get colder, and colder, and colder and soggy — very soggy. In the summer, it has to be incredibly dry outside so that the cotton can dry out — not likely in Maryland.
So I am a huge fan of synthetic water wicking quick drying cloth. And, just for the record, I always wear something on the tennis court. If I go out there naked, there is no pocket for me to place the second ball.
Barbara – I’m so glad you stopped in, thank you. I love when you said, “I always wear something on the tennis court. If I go out there naked, there is no pocket for me to place the second ball.” That cracked up up!
Laurie, I am really enjoying your blog posts. I find that as I peel off the outer layers, I find a very different me inside. I am not the same as I was when I was working 12+ hours a day with a Blackberry. However, I feel much lighter. The following is a passage from one of my favorite books, TIME OF THE WILD by A. B. Curtiss which is a children’s book.
“Wild creatures live so close to life and death that they do not see either one of them as separate from themselves. They do not chase time or run from it. This is the psychology of the wild creatures: each day they rise new as dawn, and need no baggage on the trail, for they carry neither the mistakes of yesterday nor the hopes of tomorrow upon their shoulders. When evening tells them the day is over, they rest, and do not struggle to pull back the sun that has fallen into the sea.”
Thank you for all your wisdom. Have a great week!
Chris – You have no idea how much I appreciate the quote that you’ve provided today, thank you. “They do not chase time or run from it.” That sentence, specifically, resonates with my heart. I also appreciated, “…and need no baggage on the trail, for they carry neither th emistakes of yesterday, nor the hopes of tomorrow upon their shoulders.” That is — precisely — the bottom line on top. Thank you again for your contribution.
Awakening to 40-45 degree weather is just what the doctor ordered for this urban polar bear, especially after months of intense heat. Ha! Hence the outer layer is mostly a navy blue school uniform shirt with the words “Fairview School District–Staff” printed in yellow on the upper right, and beige slacks.
Here’s a toast to that incomparable Emerson quote, which really says it all, Laurie.
Sam – I’m glad you popped in. In my perspective, parents and teachers have the two most important jobs on this planet — children are the future. My hat’s off to you, Sam!
Laurie inside my outer layer will be a t-shirt just underneath my bright red fleece over-sized sweater. Under that is a peaceful being who woke up mad as hell at an imaginary character in her dream who threw a large bolder over a hedge and almost hit this peaceful being in the head! The character was a very tall – at least 8 feet – woman. Good thing I woke up or I could have ended up in a real tangle. I share this story because I am most often peaceful, purposeful and gentle but I have a wild streak that sometimes doesn’t take no for answer… no matter how big the opponent is.
Terrill – That dream sounds pretty wild, indeed! I’m sure glad it wasn’t happening in real life. I’ve never doubted for one moment that you’ve got a wild streak — and I’ve always admired it.