Bicycle Lesson #9 - Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France

My thoughts are again on the importance of gear shifting. Then why am I photographing sheep? Well for one thing they're cute, but more important, they are a metaphor for what happens when you never shift your gears. Sheep move slowly, never lead, and are eaten quickly.  

Then there are those who are gear-shifters. My brother, Greg, an avid bicyclist once said to me, "If your bike has gears, it's easy to ride uphill." I have to confess, though there are five gears on my bike, I still haven't figured out how he has it "easy."  Today, huffing and puffing on my uphill climb I breathlessly moaned, "I can't do this. I'm going to get off and walk."

But then I shifted gears in my head and said, "Wow! look what I can do. I'm climbing a hill. The little engine can do it." And I made it to the top feeling quite exuberant.