The Mission, if you choose to accept it, is super simple: Watch for Snakes
NOTE: Usually, YOU’re the Snake.
Growing up in Austin, my parents would tell us as we left to explore the outdoors, “Watch for snakes!”
Rattlesnakes and poisonous pit vipers coiled in crevices, threatening certain death.
As I aged, it became clearer that I should be afraid of potential threats that included other types of snakes.
Violence, villainy, and sin.
My parent’s refrain got upgraded.
It took on a metaphorical refrain, “Watch for Snakes” was more about watching out for myself.
It wasn’t until my forties that I realized that “Watch for Snakes” meant watching out for the biggest snake of all, myself.
Nobody was harder on me than me.
Nobody put me in worse situations than me.
Nobody was more dangerous to me than me.
It trusted the wrong people.
That was my big sin. And then I punished myself for it.
That changed when I found my bike again.
I was done being a snake.
It just went away, one crank at a time.
Here’s how to get rid of your snakes:
- Step One: Find a bike.
- Step Two: Ride until smiling.
- Step Three: Repeat.
- Mission Accomplished: When you return to your life and there are no more snakes.
Homework: Next time you see a snake (even if it’s in the mirror), as them if they want to get a bike ride.
Next Steps: 17th Chamber