Hope, Luck and a Glorious Sunrise

route 66 shiled mural in pontiac illinois with an orange triumph tiger 1050 motorcycle in the foreground

No one is born knowing how to do everything. No, each little baby that rolls off the assembly line and hurtles down the chute is just like you. They don’t know anything about anything until they get off their asses and figure it out. They get scared. They don’t now how things work. They feel unsure. The trick is turning that unknowingness into an opportunity to know.

route 66 motorcop memorial motorcycle cop sculpture

As 2015 comes to a close, I sit here thinking about the new places that I traveled to, the whims I followed, new things I experienced, friends I’ve made – and I feel grateful. For someone who doesn’t do a whole lot, I did a whole lot. Maybe that’s because I felt a whole lot. If nothing is moving the needle on the ole feel-o-meter than all you’re left with is drudgery.

sunrise in Illinois with fuzzygalore and a triumph tiger 1050 motorcycle in the foreground

On the October morning when I took the photo above, I stood under those incredible clouds watching my breath steam away. I felt something. To the casual observer maybe all I was doing was standing on the side of that farm road. But through my eyes, there was magic in the sunrise. It felt like I was witnessing something glorious that was my secret. I stood there watching the sun finding its way through the cracks in the clouds and not taking no for an answer. I will shine through, damn it! Not everyone sees the sunrise. Some people only see something that makes them put the visor down in their car. See the sunrise.

This year, 2015, it changed me. Actually, I changed me. Long sleeping parts of myself awakened, dead weight jettisoned, and most importantly I kept hope’s pilot light lit.

That’s a big one, hope.

hope
hōp/
noun

1. a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.

    synonyms: aspiration, desire, wish, expectation, ambition, aim, goal, plan, design;

Maybe on the surface it seems like hope means leaving things to happen by chance or that whatever it is you are hoping for will come knocking on your door. But for me personally? That isn’t the case. There is work that piggybacks on hope. I think I like the synonym ambition most in that list.

Route 66 lincoln penny mural in lincoln illinois with an orange triumph tiger 1050 motorcycle in the foreground

Though I’d never really thought too deeply about it until recently, I have often felt that luck plays a big role in my life. The truth as I see it now is that I go after the things that I want. Anything that I’m proud of is something that I worked toward, it is something that I made happen. Could you say that luck played some part by putting me in the right place at the right time? Maybe. But if opportunity is looking you in the eye and you don’t take it – then you aren’t making good on the lucky break. Make your own luck. The lucky thing is the chance. You have to take it and then get to work.

In 2016, I hope to do more traveling. Travel won’t come knocking on my door so I’m going to have to get to work on making that happen.

Though I might’ve come apart at the seams for a minute there in 2015, I’m standing here now feeling pretty damn good.

Things I did in 2015

  • I traveled
  • I loved
  • I felt
  • I took chances
  • I held things close
  • I let things go
  • I meant something
  • I fell down, fell apart, fell to pieces
  • I got back up
  • I was loved
  • I tried
  • I failed
  • I triumphed
  • I was scared
  • I was brave
  • I hoped
  • I wondered
  • I was curious
  • I am grateful

Fuzzygalore

Rachael is the whimsical writer behind the 20+ year old Girlie Motorcycle Blog. As a freelance blogger, she is on a mission to inspire laughter, self-examination, curiosity, and human connection. Girlie Motorcycle Blog can be found on several Best Motorcycle Blog lists.

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5 Responses

  1. Chris says:

    As always, a great article. Hope all is well these last few weeks of 2015

  2. Diane says:

    Well said my dear!!! I am so glad I get to follow you on your blog. Keep up the good work. I so look forward to you pictures of the most unusual places. You inspire all of us to take more pictures and write more in our blogs. You are a very gifted person. I wish you the best for the coming 2016 🙂

  3. Matt says:

    Well said.

    I too plan more travel in 2016. Here’s to seeing things.

  4. At the second sentence of your post I said to myself in regard to my daughter’s recent 36 hour labor, “Hannah wouldn’t think there was any hurtling…”. But I digress.

    You raise to pretty complex topics in this post — ones that become unique and varied for each of us. You talk about change, hope, luck, chance, expectation and ambition and I can see how the mix is important. But what I take away from your ideas is revelation. Watching that sunrise can be a revelation and open a door inside a person that allows everything else to fall into place. Like gratitude in the face of what seems like endless discouraging crap.

    Anyways, I always appreciate your posts that seem like mini-meditations on living. A good way to start my often unruly brain in a good direction.

    Best wishes to you and your family for a fine Christmas.

  5. Erin A-L says:

    “Long sleeping parts of myself awakened” for me this year also. Thank you so much for your blog. I can really relate to it, and it’s wonderful feeling like I’m not the only crazy person out there – that who I am, and who you are, is ok. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Best wishes for an even better 2016.

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