THE BUMPY RIDE THEORY

The Bumpy Ride Theory.

“So Kunal you are saying that you can simplify things and explain it to my brother if he is a biker.” One of my friends had come to seek me as a counselor for her brother. She asked me this question. “Yes. If he is a biker I can explain stuff to him more easily. This way I can help him give up on negative thoughts and depressed feelings. I can relate to him more being a biker myself.” She looked at me and smiled. She knew I had a knack to simplify stuff and put it into brains of people using normal day to day examples. “When I thought about getting him counseled by you I always knew I was doing the right thing.” She complimented. “I prefer being humble about this. I help because I can, but I am human too sometimes I have my lows too and I too need someone to cheer me up. However, I will come to your house tomorrow in the morning and hopefully I get through your brother and help him.”

The next morning I was at her place with my bike the Bajaj Avenger. It actually makes you feel like God. I finished the initial formal greetings and regards with her parents and then asked her brother if he would be interested in joining me for a bike ride. People who have rode the hilly regions of Lonavala and that too in the rainy season know that it is an amazing ride. The fog caresses your face and the cold wind refreshes your brains. He being a biker could not pass the offer. We both hit the road in no time. I offered him to ride. He was very fond of my bike. Of course that was the plan, letting him ride.

The ride started with a normal stroll around the town and then I told him to head towards an uneven road that led to another trail in the hills. At first he said it would be a boring ride but then he agreed. He rode towards that trail and every now and then we had to slow down as the road was not that good. At some points of the road we literally had to drag the bike out of potholes and then start riding again. I told him do pay very deep attention to everything that happens on this trail and I will ask you something about it later.

We reached to a small roadside tea shack and I told him to pull over. We got down ordered some tea and sat on the bench outside. Looking at the scenic view we sipped our cutting chai. “So did you pay attention to everything on the road that we came by?” I asked him. “Yes pretty much. But I still do not understand what was so special about it that you asked me to pay detailed attention to it?” I smiled. I wanted him to ask this question. “The road my friend was a personification of your complete life. It has taught you a lot subconsciously. It has given you everything you need to know about life and why it is so bad and brutal.” He looked at me a little quizzical about everything. I spoke “The road had many potholes. So what did we do? Did we give up or did we continue?” “We continued.” He said. “Life too has many potholes, many bumpy points and many dangerous turns in it. We do not give up. That is the golden rule. Lot will happen in the course of life but if you want to reach beautiful destinations like these then you have to keep going. When you reach such a destination there will be peace and relaxation and self-contentment in you.” I said. “But life is very difficult it always puts us to issues we are never ready for. We are humans we get sad and depressed. Heart breaks and emotions make us vulnerable to depression. How do we tackle that? Does this bumpy ride theory of yours explain that?” I smiled, I was happy I found a name for this theory. He had given an apt title for this piece of mine. “Yes it does. Whenever you go for long rides, like I know, last year you travelled to Ladakh on bike, did you go on non-stop without taking rest?” I asked. “No we made stops there were many things. Sometimes the weather was not good and sometimes someone’s bike broke down and some even had to return back. But I finally made it to Ladakh.” He said with a sense of pride in his voice. “Exactly my point bro. Life is a long ride. There are no plans as to which route you select hence you are never prepared as to what will come next. But remember, getting sad is ok, it is not a crime, sometimes even getting depressed is fine, but that is not the end. That is just the rest you take when life takes too much of a toll. Only the ones who are strong enough to go on will make it to the Ladakh of Life and only they will feel this sense of pride of living a beautiful and adventurous life. Remember you can get depressed it is ok not a crime, but if you want to die depressed then it is the crime of the highest cruelty on your own self. Extend your hand and life is ready to hold you and take you to new destinations, sit and cry and life will send you back home.” He smiled. I knew he had understood what I wanted to exactly tell him. We had another cup of tea and then rode back. Only this time I had the chance to ride. Of course I am biker who loves his bike and would always want to have bumpy rides.