When Robert Pirsig died on April 24th a wave of heartache followed on my Facebook newsfeed. All of my mechanically inclined and/or adventure-seeking friends took the opportunity to praise his great work Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and share with the world how it's words shaped their lives.
I grew curious. What was this book and how have I never heard of it? So many had nothing but good things to say. A week later, when I was reminded, I went straight to Amazon where I found it for $3.50 ($3.99 shipping). After a few days the book was in my mailbox.
That evening I started turning the pages. I knew the story had something to do with philosophy and talked about a motorcycle trip across the country, and that was about it. What I quickly discovered is how much I needed this book.
Though I'm only about 100 pages in, Pirsig's narrator has shed light on a philosophy that is partially why I started this blog in the first place. He often compares his personal life philosophy to that of his friends on the road, using motorcycle maintenance as the prime example of their differences. The narrator believes in understanding every bit of technology on his bike so that he can make repairs on his own, while the friend, John, chooses to avoid even thinking about the maintenance and leaves that to a proper mechanic. A battle between masterful-understanding and blind-enjoyment, or at least it seems that way thus far.
I personally fall under John's perspective far too often. I live in the moment and if a hiccup happens I get frustrated instead of promptly developing a way to work around it. It's not a black and white philosophy, and I don't think Pirsig tries to sell it that way. There are plenty of times where I DO think like the narrator and work to understand what the problem is so I can fix it myself, or stop and consider why I reacted the way I did. My search for a more balanced life involves thinking with the narrators perspective more often. I want to be able to fix my bicycles on my own. I want to be able to do simple maintenance on my car more regularly. I want to edit my writing systematically and thoroughly. And I want to control my anxiety more successfully.
My hope is that this book will be the kick in the pants I need to push this goal further. After all, it couldn't be coincidence that I discovered ZAMM at this point in my life.
