Taking a vacation with someone is a funny thing. I’ve heard it said that before a couple gets married, they should vacation together. If one person envisions their perfect vacation as lying on the beach all day and another as visiting a large city and museum touring the whole trip, there could be a problem.

Luckily, Berk and I both like very active vacations.

When Berk and I are on a cycling vacation, he’s the planner. He studies the maps, looks at the weather, thinks about the pros and cons of riding this way or that and determines our routes. I generally stay out of his way, only asking basic questions like “how long do you think this ride will take?” (which he can only guess at) so I know how many energy bars to put in my pockets.

Here in Mallorca, he’s mapped out some amazing, gorgeous bike rides. Which is remarkable because he doesn’t know these roads at all. There’s a big difference between looking at a paper map and actually riding the roads on a two wheeled bicycle.

On a particular road or climb, when we’re tired and he doesn’t know how much longer the route is or how much steeper it will get before we reach a summit, the going can get tough.

And when the going gets tough, the mind gets working by asking all sorts of questions: When will we reach the top? How much longer is this ride? When can I get more food or water? Where is there a safe place for a break?

If I don’t know the answer to a question, just like my feet spinning on the pedals, my mind spins in search of answers. (I’ve learned not to ask Berk because he doesn’t know, so I just ride on and stew.)

It’s hard to enjoy the view when you’re seething at your route-maker who can’t tell you EXACTLY how many more miles until the top.

Why do we do this? Why can’t we just be happy to be on vacation in a gorgeous place doing an activity we love?

It’s the mind’s way of avoiding sitting comfortably in the unknown.

It’s my mental escape route. Instead of just being comfortable not knowing, which is all life is anyway… I think I know things but I don’t… I create this idea that if I just knew how long this steep climb was, or how many miles the entire ride will be, I’ll relax and feel better.

That’s the mind trick.

The mind wants to know!

But “knowing” never works. If I learn the answer, I might feel better for 5 seconds. But then the mind will create a new thing that it needs to know.

While I’m riding here in a place I’ve never been, I love to watch all of this happen in my head. It’s fertile soil for me to observe the mental churn, even in the middle of a seemingly endless, long climb.

And I practice getting comfortable with not knowing.

Here’s how I do it: I scan my body and I say to myself “right now, I am fine.” And it’s true. I always truly am. I’m fine! I don’t need to worry about how many more minutes or how much this or that because I’m just fine.

And then I can enjoy the view.

I know I’m writing about cycling here but we all do it all the time. Worried about money? Right now, are you fine? With any worries that keep cropping up for you, are you fine right here, right now?

Honestly, we don’t know what’s coming next week or tomorrow, or around the next bend in the road or in 10 seconds so why miss what’s happening right now because we’re worried about the unknown?

It’s the best statement that I know of to get me out of invented stress and anxiety and into the beauty of the present moment. Which is truly all any of us have.

Right now, I’m just fine.