Don’t Park Your Motorcycle
Never give up your identity. No relationship is worth it.
My best friend in high school had this unbelievable artistic talent. He was just born with it. He’d crank out the best drawings effortlessly and in no time. His style was often was and fun with exaggerated features and depicting ridiculous things. He could bring a smile to anyone's face with one of his drawings. He also had a natural talent and skill for drawing things that we a little darker in nature, he could express his inner psyche through drawings of people and the faces that gave some I was sure that he had a guaranteed future in art and illustration.
Years ago, I bought him some art supplies because I wanted him to pick it up again. He hadn’t touched it for many years. The reason? His marriage. Unfortunately, his relationship was the type of relationship that didn’t have room for a person to be himself. He existed for his marriage and that’s always where is focus was. His relationship was not one that allowed him to do what he loved. It required him to park his motorcycle without any idea in sight when he’d be able to get back on it again.
It doesn’t matter what your particular motorcycle is as long as you know what it is and as long as you love it and it gives you a reason to get out of bed in the morning
Being Free and Being Your Own Person
See, I think of a motorcycle kind of like I think of freedom. It’s passion, it’s freedom, it’s individualism and it’s powerful. When your life is like a motorcycle you live with all those things. Freedom, passion and a love for life. It’s having a reason to get up in the morning. Maybe it’s actually a motorcycle or maybe it’s something like art, writing music, snowboarding, mountain climbing, etc. It doesn’t matter what your particular motorcycle is as long as you know what it is and as long as you love it and it gives you a reason to get out of bed in the morning.
It’s not just passion and freedom though. It’s joy, it’s contentment, it’s mindfulness, it’s identity and it’s inner peace. All of these things are necessary ingredients for that elusive idea known as happiness. Whatever your motorcycle is, it makes you happy.
Here’s the thing though. Too many people park their motorcycle and it’s usually because of a relationship. Never. And I mean never. Park your motorcycle. Never put your art supplies away in a box and stuff in the back of a storage locker. Never put your guitar into the back of the closet. No relationship is worth it. Not a single one. In fact, this is one of your best indicators that your relationship isn’t going to be a good one for you. If the relationship requires you to park your motorcycle then you may need to move on.
Insecure Partners Are Toxic Partners
Sometimes you will even meet someone that wants you to park it. They see you on your motorcycle and they see that you love it and they might be threatened by it and they will expect you to park in the garage and throw a tarp over it. Anyone that expects you to park it because they are threatened by it is just not going to be a good partner. They aren’t relationship ready and if you allow this type of person into your life, you might not be relationship ready either.
You really know that they are a keeper if they encourage you to go out and ride
Invite your new partner to take the ride with you. Invite them to get onto the back of your bike or get their own and go with you on the journey. If they say no and still want you to park it then it’s time to exercise self-love by using your two legs and walking away. You must preserve your own time to ride and ride free. They need that for themselves so encourage them to ride free on their own time. They need it too.
You really know that they are a keeper if they encourage you to go out and ride. If they are suiting you up and putting your helmet on while pushing you out the door to ride, you’ve got a keeper.
Self-love and self-respect are necessary for happiness and success and this is just one way to enrich your life so that you live happy and ride free. Nobody and I mean nobody is worth parking your motorcycle for. Parking your bike isn’t just changing your priorities, it’s giving up an identity and relinquishing your personal freedom.
I no longer see my old friend. Without his identity, he became an empty shell of a person. The friend that I knew, loved and admired had died. He no longer had a soul. His purpose was clearly laid out from him, he had a gift and he threw it away. Years after parking his bike and throwing a tarp over it, he became someone else entirely. He no longer had a spark for life and as we grow older we need that. Without that sense of purpose and without that sense of self, life becomes empty and completely meaningless only exacerbated by the notion that the days are expiring.
Based on what Dr. Wayne Dyer said before he died, I truly believe that nothing is worse than dying knowing that you had a chance to live happy and free and did not. And there’s nothing worse than dying knowing that you were wrong.
Never. Ever. Ever. Park your motorcycle.
