04/06/2026
「Life is like a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. 人生就像騎自行車。為了保持平衡，你必須不斷前進。」— 阿爾伯特．愛因斯坦（Albert Einstein）
前進的速度每個人都不同。我們有時繞了遠路、有時原地折返。但不論選擇如何，真正的體悟，往往藏在那些行經的過程裡。
每年的 6 月 3 日世界自行車日。很難想像從小體育倒數的我，竟然已經持續騎了十幾年單車。這份習慣，要從 2014 年夏天，我前往愛丁堡攻讀藝術心理治療的日子說起。
那是一段體力與心智的極致硬仗。為了上課與實習，我每天挑戰無數個「30分鐘陡坡」，甚至在冬夜零下、空曠通風的月台枯等一小時火車，一天有 5 個小時都在通勤與低溫中拉鋸。每當寒風刺痛臉頰，大腿因坡度而顫抖時，我常哭笑不得地問自己：到底是哪來的毅力跑來這裡？
但在英國就讀心理相關系所，有一項神聖的規定：每週必須自費接受一小時一對一的藝術心理治療。這筆不小的花費，卻成了我生命最核心的養分。
每週，我踩著單車前去見我的治療師。回程時，我總喜歡在著名的亞瑟王座（Arthur's Seat）山腳下的杜丁斯頓湖（Duddingston Loch）畔逗留。看著天鵝、鴛鴦與海鷗在水面滑行，在這個有山、有海、有湖、有古蹟的城市裡，我體會到了什麼是「苦後回甘」。
心理治療與藝術治療的過程也是如此。我們必須勇敢面對自己的陰暗面，療癒創傷。「唯有當自己茁壯了，才有機會散發光芒，照亮需要的人。」
那幾年，我以王子街為中心，方圓 40 公里的古城小巷、金色麥田、十層樓高的運河旁，都留下我的足跡。在心理學所說的「過渡空間（Transitional Space）」與「心流（Flow）」裡，我學會了與自己相處。而路上迎面而來的騎士交錯時，那聲溫暖熱情的 “Hiya!”，更是寂寞異鄉裡最美的心理連結。
追夢的路從不易，但正因為有陡坡、有逆風，當我們終於茁壯時，那份生命力才顯得如此強韌。
今天，你也在為自己的夢想踩踏著嗎？逆風時別怕，感受風的溫度，只要不停下，平衡就在前方。
（圖：愛丁堡市中心大草原 The Meadows, Edinburgh）
👉 更多關於 Carol 在愛丁堡的單車風景與心理療癒故事，歡迎點擊官網連結閱讀「逆風中的平衡學：從愛丁堡的單車軌跡，談助人者的自我療癒與生命韌性」。
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"Life is like a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving." — Albert Einstein
Everyone moves at a different pace. Sometimes we take detours, sometimes we turn back. But regardless of our choices, true understanding often lies in the journey itself.
June 3rd is World Bicycle Day. It's hard to believe that I, who always ranked last in physical education, have been cycling for over a decade. This habit began in the summer of 2014 when I went to Edinburgh to study art psychotherapy.
It was an extreme battle of physical and mental endurance. To attend classes and complete my internship, I challenged myself with countless "30-minute steep hills" every day, even spending an hour waiting for a train on a cold, empty, and drafty platform on a winter night. Five hours a day were spent commuting and battling the freezing temperatures. Whenever the cold wind stung my cheeks and my legs trembled from the slope, I often asked myself, with a mix of laughter and tears: Where did I get the willpower to come here?
But studying psychology in the UK had a sacred rule: I had to pay for one hour of one-on-one art therapy every week. This considerable expense became the most essential nourishment in my life.
Every week, I cycled to see my therapist. On the way back, I always liked to linger at Duddingston Loch, at the foot of the famous Arthur's Seat. Watching swans, mandarin ducks, and seagulls glide across the water, in this city with mountains, sea, lakes, and historical sites, I experienced what "bitterness followed by sweetness" truly meant.
The process of psychotherapy and art therapy is similar. We must bravely face our dark side and heal our wounds. "Only when you grow strong can you shine and illuminate those who need you."
During those years, centered around Princes Street, I left my footprints in the ancient alleys, golden wheat fields, and along the ten-story-high canals of the city, all within a 40-kilometer radius. In the "transitional space" and "flow" described in psychology, I learned to be at peace with myself. And the warm, enthusiastic "Hiya!" from passing riders on the road was the most beautiful psychological connection in that lonely foreign land.
The road to pursuing dreams is never easy, but it is precisely because of the steep slopes and headwinds that our vitality becomes so resilient when we finally grow strong.
Today, are you also treading the path for your dreams? Don't be afraid of the headwinds; feel the temperature of the wind. As long as you don't stop, balance lies ahead.
(Photo: The Meadows, Edinburgh)
👉 For more about Carol's cycling experiences and healing stories in Edinburgh, please click the link on the official website to read "Balance in the Headwinds: Self-Healing and Resilience of Helpers Through Cycling in Edinburgh".
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