The other day I was watching a regional television serial. One of the characters in the serial talked about the similarity between life and a bicycle, this visual triggered off my thought process. While riding bicycle during my exercise schedule in the morning, I kept on thinking about these commonalities and to my surprise I could find many of such similarities between life and a bicycle which I am sharing with you.
Lot of saints have debated on the existence of duet in human life. The Examples of Duet are found in Religious scriptures as well. In Hindu mythology there is “Radha-Krishna”; while in Christianity “Adam-Eve” are the examples of a duet. I am not the authority on the subject but when I look at life I feel it is a duet too. In childhood, it is the mother who is our partner in the duet. As we grow older, this position oscillates between our mother, father, brother or sister. During teenage they do get replaced by friends and later on by a soul mate, wife or husband. The Bicycle is a duet on its own. It has got two wheels, two pedals; two breaks, requires two legs to push pedals and two hands to control it, a perfect example of a duet.
Let us look at how this duet works in a bicycle and also it’s working in our life. In a bicycle, we need the front wheel to provide direction and the rear wheel to provide the drive. In the same manner, in life we need someone to provide us with inspiration or the required drive to provide direction to our life’s wanderings. In life, position of these two wheels keeps on changing based on the situation. When someone is providing direction we need to keep full faith and provide the required drive. So also, when we are exploring the unknown, finding out our own path or direction, we need someone to provide us with inspiration or to push us with the right drive. In a bicycle these positions are fixed, but, in life, one needs to be a front or rear wheel depending on the demand of the situation at hand.
Roads on which we drive bicycle have climbs and a slope just as similarly as life has its various ups and down. Now these ups and downs are the opposites of a climb and a slope. When you are riding a bicycle and climbing you really need to push very hard on the pedals. Both legs need to perform or you will stall. In life when you are going through tough times (down) you and your partner need to share the load equally or else you tend to get stuck. Construction of pedals in the bicycle is such that when one leg gets tired of pushing a pedal, other leg starts pushing with fresh energy. In our day to day life routine, this synchronization is much expected and needed or else there is a huge possibility of burn outs in the relationships. When there is a slope on the road both legs relax and enjoy, so is the case with life when everything is going on as expected.
When you are turning the bicycle handle to provide direction, one arm gets stretched and other contracts. Similarly, in relationships one has to stretch, extend support, love and affection and take your partner into confidence while taking major decisions to change the course of life.If that does not happen in a timely fashion, then there is resistance and changing direction later on may be almost impossible.
One need to strike a balance in life and so is the case with the bicycle. If you do not know how to maintain the correct balance, falling off is inevitable. In case of life, some people ridicule you, some support. Similarly when you fall from a bicycle some people laugh at you while some help. Balancing act is performed by the brain, which also plays a very important role in maintaining balanced relationships with the people around us.
One needs to know when to stop, slow down etc while riding to maintain the right balance, just as in life’s case. When we are going through a rough patch we need to apply ourselves fully. No brakes needed, as when we are climbing uphill on bicycle. When we are on a slope, we need to keep the speed in control by applying brakes in-between; the same applies in life as well. Generally we need to apply both the brakes simultaneously, as both partners in life need to apply restrain to sync with each other.
Both wheels of the bicycle need correct air-pressure for the smooth ride as both partners need the right motivation, energy, love, affection, empathy and will from each other to make the relationship a success and not a bumpy ride.
I must thank the script of the serial for triggering these thoughts and am sure this will provoke you to introspect as well.
