How Mountain Biker & Artist Sarah Uhl Finds Inspiration in Motion

How do you experience your world? At times, does it feel like the pendulum is swinging wildly from the struggle to success, and back again?

Today we share a subtle but important wonder with you: the ability to be totally present and enveloped in what’s surrounding you. And we can do that at any moment, no matter our circumstances.

Another Goodness Exchange thought leader, Sarah Uhl, will point us to a perspective rarely celebrated. Here’s a small sample of how she is stopping to take in her surroundings:

Sarah is not just an ephemeral artist, wiling away the day in her studio. She is also an avid, bold mountain biker, so her excursions get her out into some inspiring places. The video below has some breathtaking imagery if you watch it solely for that, but we can all find a takeaway message as well.

Here’s a bit of solid advice from a great source who seems to be referring to exactly what Sarah has to share with us:

“The future depends on what you do today.”

Mahatma Gandhi

Maybe we could realize ways to really make the most out of the rest of our year through watching her process. A huge thanks to Yeti Cycles for the creation of this stunning video!

We all have this same ability to pack up a few items — a blanket, camera, an apple — and wander somewhere outside, to take it all in. I suppose you could even follow the basics of her process while taking in a colorful, crowded market. (I mean really taking it in.) Sarah’s process is brilliant, for it causes us to slow down, stay right in the moment, and pay attention to the details as they fit into the scope of things.

The trick is reminding yourself to make the time for a few minutes like this each day.

And okay, maybe you’re not interested in the whole art side of this, or the biking, or maybe the seasons just don’t really change in your part of our world. Regardless, just get your body outside your four walls! Even to just sit on a bench with the sun in your face. Soak it all in! There’s something wonderful about where we all are right now, we just need to spend a moment to notice it.

And then what?

As we go through our day, we can apply the peace of mind that we found in that stillness and subtleties.

“It’s really incredible the way that being out on your bike in the woods can change your mood entirely and help you gain perspective on what really matters and what’s being stressed out about.”

Sarah Uhl ²

Make sure you check out all of Sarah’s portfolio by visiting her website and follow her on Instagram to stay up to date with all of her amazing adventures! She creates fantastically whimsical pieces that show us her own unique experience inside of this world we share and aims to have her art become her impact. Click this link to view the complete description (photo above) of the event that helped her and her friend raise $3,250 in the name of water conservation!

Her activism is a gorgeous reminder that there are ways where doing what you love can help make the world a better place.

I’d like to leave you with one last thought on that feeling that our lives are swinging from struggle to success, and back again, relentlessly. You may be experiencing ups and downs in parenting, or trying to find a job that you truly love, or you may be helping someone you care about get through a rough patch. Here’s a quote that has stayed with us:

Some days everything goes just perfectly and other days you are really in the throws of life. And those are the days you have to say to yourself,

“It’s the struggle I chose. It’s the good fight.”

Sarah Uhl

Keep yourself open, and happiness may stay nearby!

-Sam

This article was originally published September 19, 2017.

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