You Light Up My Life

I rode my bike today - it was cold, it was a little icy -- but despite the discomforts in the winter it is still my preferred mode of transportation.

It's a little more limiting at night, though -- so I usually don't stay out late in the winter when I'm on my bike.

Today I had a bodywork appointment that ended close to 6pm, so I wound up riding home in the dark. I went to turn on the lights on my bike, and the front light was dead. Time to recharge it -- but I couldn't do anything about that until I got home.

So I turned the back light on and headed home, taking the bike path. I stayed on my side of the path but I still got some unneeded commentary from another cyclist who felt the need to tell me that I needed a light. No shit buddy. Thanks for the PSA.

Then I turned off the path and up a street. There's more ice on the sides so when I can I try to ride a little more in the middle -- and move when a car comes. So that's what I was doing when a car passed me. The man then went into his driveway and came out of his garage and over to the street to tell me something. I braced myself a little after the encounter on the bike path, but this man's commentary came from a completely different place:

"I love your bike light! I could see you from two blocks away!"

"Oh I'm so glad!" I called out in response. "Thank you for telling me."

And as I pedaled away, this classic began to play on the internal jukebox:

And you light up my life
You give me hope to carry on
You light up my days and fill my nights with song

It was such a great example of how powerful kindness is, and how much more welcome and useful it is than unsolicited advice directed at someone when we don't really know their situation. I vowed to focus more on the former, and to try to eliminate the latter from my interactions with fellow humans as much as possible.

Because I would way rather light up someone's evening than take them down a notch:

And you light up my life
You give me hope to carry on
You light up my days and fill my nights with song

As I sang along, I also, as I do every single day, gave thanks that the man who lights up my life is back in it for good:

It can't be wrong
When it feels so right
'Cause you.....you light up my life