Concentrate

Concentration, as in 'the act of concentrating' opposed to 'being concentrated', can be loosely defined as paying close, undivided attention to a single thing. This definition can of course be tightened but this will do for now.

I don't have the knack for this concentration thing. I get interested in too many things too fast and as a result lose interest in lots of things equally as fast. And even while I am doing the few things which manage to hold my attention for long, I have never been known to do the 'pay close and undivided attention' act. Given my propensity, at a sub-conscious level, to avoid concentrating on the task on hand, it is a surprise that I managed to finish school with decent grades. It is a much bigger surprise that I manage to ride my bike, at least twice everyday, in this chaotic traffic, cover a minimum of 35 Kms and still manage to stay alive. Of course I have had a hand-full of spills and falls, but considering my ten year long riding habit and the fact that I have never had anything more serious than cuts and scratches to treat, I would still say it's a surprise.

I usually remember everything that had happened on the road at the end of my rides. How I overtook that big truck, how I managed to beat that particularly long signal, how I almost put my front wheel into the boot of the parked car but didn't - all these and more, come back in vivid detail when I am parking my bike after the ride and making my way to wherever it is that I have to go. But sometimes an empty piece of paper seems more populated than my brain and however hard I try, I won't remember details about what had happened. The fact that I am parking the bike at my intended destination tells me that I did follow the correct route to get there. But the total lack of detail about that journey is slightly perplexing unless there is some version of auto-pilot hard at work, ensuring that I reach point B from point A irrespective of whether I am thinking about my riding or about any number of other things that are not even closely related to riding.

Since there needs to be an explanation for everything that happens (and also because this happens to be a convenient explanation), I officially declare that I have an autopilot installed and it works!