Letting go

There’s always this bittersweet feeling when you give up something you love. Physical belongings are just that and people say you shouldn’t get too attached, but it’s the memories that surround those things that make it an important part of your life. At the end of everything, we’re all just an accumulation of experiences and though physical objects are fleeting, so is everything else.

It’s not the motorcycle I’m about to sale that I’m attached to. It’s the trips I’ve taken on it that I’ll always remember and the thought that I won’t be taking anymore that’s making me nostalgic. It is like losing an old friend in a way. One thing about life, if you live long enough, you’re going to lose people and things that you care about. Some willingly, some, not so much, but you don’t always get a choice.

I’m selling my bike to an older gentleman who’s been watching a close friend deteriorate for the last few months. I get it. That need for something to help you feel alive as you watch a loved one fade away. Something about grabbing life by the balls is empowering. Pushing the limits can be invigorating. Cutting down the road at inhuman speeds with nothing but a layer of leather between yourself and the rest of the world makes you feel vulnerable and powerful all at the same time.

Right now I’m waiting for my wife to wake up so we can deliver the bike. We have a newborn and I’m selling this for some extra cash as we adjust to this new phase of our life. The one certainty in life is change, and I’m having to make adjustments to this new phase in life. I’ve enjoyed my life up to this point, but I’m also super excited about all the adventures I get to share with my kid now.

Words never make a loss much easier, and I won’t compare losing a bike to losing a loved one, but I just want to say to anyone going through anything like this; life can sometimes be sad and hard, but it is also simultaneously a beautiful and unexpected adventure. Letting go of one thing in order to move to the next is not always easy but it is always necessary. How you do that is up to you, but don’t be afraid to embrace a little adventure. This life is a wild ride so just enjoy it while you can.

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