everything else...

There is a lot floating around in my mind. I am a notorius over-thinker. Sometimes it gets so jumbled that it is hard to separate thought from thought. It's like rapid fire, one after the other. But when I ride (or run, or swim, or hike, or row...you get the picture) it all stops.

Total standstill.

The exertion necessitates that my whole self (mind included- there is no division) becomes devoted to: 

muscles under flesh, flexing, rising up, pulling away from bone

lungs and breath

sweat and salt on my skin

cadence, rhythm, pace, and time

pedaling, pounding, pulling, pushing

going further, faster

burning

building strength- inside and out

Exercise: it's just so vital to me. It's more like a rest actually. Everything else just fades away.