DDT (12)
Member
Posts: 4118
Sometimes ya just gotta go...
Winter Springs, FL - Occasionally...
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« on: June 11, 2019, 01:53:12 PM » |
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Ever ridden that route? Ever heard of it? Does anybody know where it might be, or if it even exists? Heck, I may have ridden it myself at some point, but I have no recollection of ever doing so. If I ever did, it must not have struck me as particularly memorable at the time, so… What’s more, it doesn’t matter, and that isn’t why I’ve brought it up.
I was standing around chatting with a couple of old friends at IZ this time, when Tom (T.P.) walked up and joined us. Those who know Tom know very well that he has a wry sense of humor and can be downright comical at times. Well, he noticed a Route 66 pin on my jacket, that had been given to me somewhere along the way, and… He proceeded to turn it upside down and suggest I leave it to see if anybody noticed… I did…
Not twenty minutes later I joined another group of Valker conversationalists, and Des noticed it right-off and turned it right-side up. So much for that experiment… So, why did I even bother to mention this in the first place? Seemingly minor, insignificant little things like that are indicators of the comfort levels we all have with each other, and the ease with which we talk, act, and share intimate details of our lives… It is simply amazing to me! And, it is magical.
The big draw for this normally solitary rider is those very people, two of whom I’ve just mentioned… It is common for this serious wanderer to show up at these functions… and not ride at all or perhaps very little. While the venues are designed to attract members to exotic, scenic, stunningly beautiful or interesting locales, the real inducement is the tire-kicking and constant, intriguing conversations that go-on from early morning to late night.
It is through these gum-flapping sessions that we get to know one another better… And, we learn that we’re not alone or facing difficult challenges in isolation as a unique victim. We’re all traveling the path of life, and our journeys are more similar than we may realize. That the amusing person next to you sharing a story of some ride here or there or other light-hearted personal anecdote, also has had painful experiences, embarrassing moments, and personal tragedies just like some we may have experienced.
We trust each other to the point we are willing to share items that we otherwise might never express to anyone else, because those very details give away our own humanness… our weaknesses, vulnerabilities, or ordinariness. In a world in which so many try hard to impress, amaze, or pump-up some apparent super-human status, I find it personally rewarding to reveal my true self and to confirm that I’m not much different than anyone else.
We take comfort in the acceptance and empathy available to us, and we bond in special ways because we have so much in common. Beyond the simple fact of riding or even the type riding or bike we ride… We share life too, and we invite trusted friends to peer into our own private, imperfect world, and they us into theirs, and we form relationships that go beyond what we usually find anywhere else. The details of our lives vary widely in many respects, but the core human issues that touch us all are quite similar in degree, depth, and breadth… It is in those quite personal aspects, I believe, that we find so much common ground.
When I focus on negative things, become overly self-critical, or dwell upon failures or mistakes, I find myself slipping into a funk… feeling bad, down, or like my life has been a total bust. When I receive positive or reinforcing feedback, though, and especially when I allow myself to revel in the excitement of all that has gone well in my life, I fell a lift, an exultation, a joy that elevates my spirits to a most desirable plane. “As ones thinking is, such one becomes…”
I’ve been around other riders and groups along the way while seeking to discover who I truly am, why I think and act the way I do, what I should do with my life… Mostly what I’ve found is folks seeking the same things we do, but not finding much of what has liberally come our way. Instead of taking a leap of faith and letting ones guard down and revealing their true self, they seek to bolster themselves, often embellishing the details, through ostentatious displays of wealth, creativity, bravado, or other ‘achievements’.
We all see through others’ facades as easily and accurately as they do ours. No one is really much fooled, actually, but the attempts at false or ‘exaggerated’ projections cause us to become wary, cautious, reserved with sensitive ‘human’ details, and to stop short of going that extra little bit by allowing our natural aversion to ‘risk’ to thwart real intimacy… And, we thereby deny ourselves the very things for which we so desperately search.
Why is this group so special…? For myself anyway, this is the one ‘family’ beyond my actual family, that I’ve ever felt comfortable enough to allow myself to completely just be me… to expose who I actually am, unfiltered and unrefined. In return I’ve found so much of that from others, that I’ve felt like I truly belong, that I actually fit-in with genuine kindred spirits. This is no accident…
In the beginning, the creative founders of this club took a gamble on an untried, unproven organization model… No dues! The obvious advantages of such a model in terms of broad appeal were likewise doubtful in terms of sustainability, because no organization of any size, shape, or aim can function without operating funds. They found a way mostly through advertising, sponsorships, and special events to keep ‘the lights on’. There is much more, however…
The leadership has not been perfect, of course, but it has been skillful, thoughtful, long-term focused, deft in its handling of affairs and in decision-making. It has been strong, resilient, flexible where and when needed, and it has managed to successfully navigate the murky waters of uncertainty where the human variations, vagaries, and occasionally illogical actions and reactions of the membership and the ‘marketplace’ are concerned.
They have asserted strong leadership when needed but remained ‘off the throttle’ much of the time to allow for individual members to find fulfilment through initiative, participation and various personal contributions. These ‘environmentalists’ have produced an atmosphere and setting where exactly what we’ve all found and cherish can flourish. I give them an A+.
More than anything, I think, and there is an element of luck here, it has been the people themselves who have gravitated towards or been drawn into this orbit. By taking personal risks in exposing who we really are, that is by being willing to simply be who we actually are without ‘enhancements’, we’ve engendered a sense of trust and kinship that has grown over time and deepened the early bonds into something much more important.
We’ve also managed to transcend the usual silo-producing limiters of socio-economic status, career, religion, or political persuasion, by focusing on the truly important things that we share in common rather than to attempt to draw distinctions by focusing on superficial differences. Give yourselves a well-deserved pat on the back, my good friends… Y’all are really something special, and I thank you all for so enriching my own life.
DDT
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