On People, Memories, and the World

The best part of being alive is to be with other people. Maybe it’s just me being a lonely cyclist on the road, but I think there’s some truth to that.

I’ve been on the road for 28 days and I’ve yet to meet another long distance cyclist going in the same direction. In 2018, I met Crispin on my 25th day of cycling across America. This time, I wish I could meet another companion. I’m also about half way down to Florida. Since I started so early, I doubt that I’ll meet someone on the road, but we shall see.

Thank goodness for Warmshowers hosts. I’ve met so many kind hosts and each of them has taught me something, either through conversations, the books they have, or the environment they live in.

As I talked to more people, most of them random, I got the confirmation that the world is indeed a good place and it’s only getting better. There is hope for the future. I just have to look closely. By the world, I mean the world I see through my set of eyes. Sure, there is the whole world that is everything we know. I’m talking about the personal world that I see and experience on a daily basis. Imagine if everyone on earth experienced peace and happiness for one day, where there isn’t any harmful events, then that day will truly be peace in the world. Thus, the world is me times 8 billion people. It all starts with oneself. From there, every good thing done will be multiplied (and so is every bad thing). We get to choose what we can do in this moment to make the world better or worse.

Another thing about life and the world is the memories we make. I try to remember the good things and let go of the bad. It’s the memories that keeps returning to me and they will influence my future. Sometimes, the bad memories make for good stories when they lead to something good. And it seems like life tends to do that. It’s ebbing and flowing, mixing the bad with the good. Without the bad, it’s hard to recognize the good when it shows up. Like the hills I had to cycle over, there’s always a downhill after climbing an uphill. But I’ll never feel the wind of the downhill if I don’t climb to the top with much effort. There are obstacles in our lives. We are quick to label something is bad when in fact it’s just something we have to work through. Perhaps practicing a nonjudgemental attitude can help.

Now, let me zoom out to outer space. I’m only typing this because I’m a human living in 2023. I’m still in the process of being alive. Nothing is over until my personal world has finished or the whole world has vanished. I’m betting I will go first. But I’m here to leave a small footprint in the sands of time. There are other humans who have come before me and after me that will do the same, leaving their footprints. The totality of everyone experiencing their daily lives is life. I’m just one character in one episode of my TV show broadcasting on a daily basis. Life is everyone’s TV show on at the same time all the time.

It’s my hope that I’ll make a lot of friends on my travels so I can be a supporting role in other’s TV shows, and others will be in mine as well. It’s a web of relationships that I’m sewing while cycling. And for me, that’s the riches I’m seeking.