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| Where I feel most safe |
That is, for every dollar earned by a man, a dollar was spent by someone else. Every apple that grows from a tree, water, carbon, sunlight, was taken. Even when we gain knowledge, it seems we forget something else.
The Universe never gives without taking from another.
After so many years of riding long journeys on my motorcycle, I've gained a certain amount of richness. I see how vast the world is, but at the same time I feel more small. I see how intricate our society is and am only more confused.
It's as if gaining enlightenment is really just becoming more humble.
Part of me sees solutions to the problems that plague us, but on the other hand, patching a hole in one place seems to open up a hole somewhere else. It's like when you take a pill to cure an illness, and you end up with side effects from taking the pill.
In the end, I can never seem to get ahead. It's always one step forward and one step back.
I'd rather just lay myself afloat and let the highway's current deliver me to the answer. The realization I am just one small human being on Earth, let alone during a very brief moment of time on this planet's history, could either have me hurried in a panic, or calm in assurance.
Salvation along the Church of the Highway has it's unique brand of enlightenment for someone who's spent a lot of time inside their head. I often believe that the sight of trees, mountains, and rivers is an assurance that I'll return to someplace more ageless than where I am now.
Others can toss dollars into a tithing basket, and others still can consume alcohol at a late night happy hour, but it's all the same church. It's all just people releasing control and letting the Universe take them.
In the end, there are no winners and losers. Everything we've gained is taken away. Even the knowledge learned from our existence is useless at that point. It's better to accept others as they are than to ask for changes. The best answer to life's mysteries is to let go, let things be, and appreciate what comes our way.
“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” John Lennon.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the more I learn of others, the more I realize what I'm capable of as a person and the cost is a bit of my own innocence.
ReplyDeleteI wish I were an innocent child again, loving and unafraid.
Smooches,
Sash
Nicely stated Steve. Thank you for sharing and being vulnerable.
ReplyDeleteRide On....!
ReplyDeletemay be there is at least one way..when you share no things is lost.
ReplyDeleteI've been doing long distance, solo motorcycle trips for about 10 years now. Your comment about something lost for something gained is so true. What I once thought was a vast expanse of land from east to west and north to south, now seems much smaller. We have huge cities with growing populations and multi-lane, high speed highways that stretch across the country like a massive spider web. When I ride, I make every effort to not get caught in that web. I seek out back roads to everywhere. One of the realizations at the end of every ride, is that small-town America is dying. The mom and pop cafes, hardware stores, drug stores, etc. can't survive the 4 lane bypass the goes around their town. I've noticed that riding a 4 lane road lacks the character and appeal of the old 2 lane road. Closed shops and abandoned buildings occupy the once active town centers. It saddens me to see this happening, yet it inspires me to seek out and experience more of small town, rural America while I can.
ReplyDeleteRiding solo has affected my relationship with other bikers in that I no longer want to ride with someone else. I find myself avoiding people that say the want to go with me on the next trip. It's not that I don't like these people or enjoy their company, but it turns the trip into something less personal. Time alone on my motorcycle is not a lonely time.
joe2wheels