The Intention of Motorcycling

Motorcycling is all about intention.

I see the road I intend to travel and then I'm there.

Our intention creates our reality. ~ Wayne Dyer

To make a turn, I look as far as I can see through the turn, focusing on the road ahead, until I am all of the way through the end. I don't stare at the things I pass, I don't stare at the road I'm on. I only look ahead.

If I want to pass between two objects I focus on the sliver of road I want my wheels to travel until it is behind me.

And I do not look where I've been. As I rider I only look where I am going. Perhaps a glance in the mirror from time to time, but I'm focused on the road ahead.

It's a life of intent.

If there is a pothole or an obstacle in the road, the motorcyclist must focus their attention on the safe road, away from the obstacle. This proves to be incredibly difficult, for all of us. It is a challenge that presents itself time and again and our ability to focus on the good wavers depending upon the other circumstances in our lives. But every motorcyclist knows what happens when you watch the pothole. . .

A couple of years ago Highway and I were on his motorcycle Blackbird in the Sonora Desert. We had pulled off of the interstate to visit a roadside attraction and found ourselves on a terrible, cracked, pitted road with huge chunks of asphalt missing all over. At a steady pace Highway navigated the road, focusing only on where he wanted Blackbird to go, not on all of the problems in the road.

"How did you do that?" I exclaimed when he parked the bike.

"Do what?"

As a rider he knows what to do and simply does it. He need not think about it at length. He knows to look where he intends to go.

Life is exactly like that. Look where you want to go and you will be there, before you know it. Don't focus on the obstacles, but simply let them pass by. Stay focused on the good road.

Mistakes happen. We have lapses of self pity, lose sight of our goals and our dreams, and fall into despair. We see only the rain and cry because we cannot ride the day we planned to. We see the whole world as being against us and nothing is going our way.

That's when we've not only focused on the pothole, we've fallen in and drown in our own tears.

With the push of the starter, pull of the throttle, and a kick into first gear we can begin again. Every new ride is a chance to change the road of life we choose to travel.

Ride with intention. Intend good things for yourself and don't worry if you take a wrong turn, run into bad weather or even drop your bike. You can always pick it up again and ride.

"After all, tomorrow is another day." ~ Scarlett O'Hara