I'm thankful that motorcycling showed me what life could really be.
I have a confession: I'm a workaholic. I've always been one. If I'm not working, then I just don't know what to do with myself. I used to work without purpose. A few years ago after a series of unfortunate events, my life fell apart. Around this time, I bought a motorcycle: my 2007 Kawasaki Ninja 250. There's a great metaphor in how I learned to be a decent motorcyclist while I learned how to have a fulfilling life. There were hard lessons in both, that each resulted in physical and emotional scars. I think the decision to push on with motorcycling, despite its hardships, inspired me to push on with my own difficulties in finding myself and creating a happy life.
t's been a few years since I got my life back together, but it's not the same as it once was. I'm still a workaholic, but I no longer work for work's sake - there's a purpose for it. I work so that I have the time and resources to see the fascinating things life has to offer. The world is actually a very beautiful place, and it becomes more wondrous when you're on two wheels. I've spent 25,000 miles on my bike carving out deserted roads alone with my thoughts, watching sunsets as I search for a motel in an unknown town for the night, and enjoying the crisp cool air as I awake the next morning to do it all over again.
Sometimes I am alone, and others times I have companions. There's a magic in the connections you make with people, whether it's weeks on the road with your best friend, a few hours at a gas station with a new friend while you wait out a rainstorm, or an evening in a small town with another group of motorcyclists who are also just passing through. In each of these moments, I am grateful to be alive.
So this Thanksgiving, I'm thankful that my bike opened my eyes the wonders in life. We're only here for a short time, so we might as well make the most of it. Would I have been able to do that without a motorcycle? I'm not sure. - Jen Tekawitha.
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