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Motorcycle Touring: What if the Mayans Are Right?How would you live if this was the last year of your life?Ever since I was a kid I have been fascinated by urban legends and conspiracy theories. Whenever my elementary school classes were given library time I would manage to find books about the weird and the strange. There was just something about the stories of UFOs, the Jersey Devil and Big Foot that sparked my adolescent interest. As an adult I have continued to be interested in these kinds of stories, and thus have become a fan of Coast to Coast AM—first with Art Bell and now with George Noory and his assorted co-hosts. While I still listen to some of the standard political diatribe, over the years I have found it less and less interesting. It just seems to be the same "old mine is bigger than yours" stuff over and over again. Conversely the topics covered on Coast to Coast vary from UFOs and Big Foot, to current events, to how the universe was made. Now, I admit that I do not necessarily believe everything that is discussed. You need to take many of the guests with a large dose of salt, but they are always thought provoking. One of the commonly discussed topics is the Mayan calendar and 2012. Is this really the end of world as many suggest? Will a comet strike the earth, or will the sun launch a giant, solar flare, destroying our communications grid and sending us back to the stone-age? Who knows...but just before the end of 2011 George had a guest named Clint Author who had an interesting premise. What if the Mayans were right? What if this is the last year of your life? Personally I think that after December 21st, 2012 we will all rise the following morning and be really disappointed. Just like the Y2K scare, when it is all said and done nothing much will happened and we will all still have to shower, go to work and pay the bills. However, it is an interesting concept. If this was the last year of your life how would it change the way you live? Now I know there are some of you out there that might just not care about anything. You might get stoned or drunk every day, eat anything—and everything—want and just generally not give a shit about anything. You might feel it would be ok to take advantage of others, because after all you’re going to be dead soon...right. Well, I guess that is one way to approach it, but it would not be mine. At 50 plus years old I should still have 30 years or so ahead of me but I have to be honest, I already feel like I am running out of time and there are so many things that I still want to do, to see, to accomplish. I don’t necessarily have a "bucket list," but I have shifted my priorities. No longer do I find chasing after fame and fortune a worthwhile vocation. Of course I need to make money to keep a roof over my head, to buy food and to make the motorcycle payment, but money--in and of itself--is not that important to me, other than to finance my adventures. So number 1 on my list would be to have more adventure in my life—something I am already striving for. Next would be another thing I am working towards, that is better health. I know to some this may seem strange that in the last year of my life I would even care about my health. But the kind of adventures that I seek usually involves some degree of physical activity. Even touring on a motorcycle is more physically demanding that most might suspect. After all, if the disaster awaiting us on 12/21/12 turns out to be a zombie apocalypse, I want to be ready—that is an inside joke for my CrossFit Torque buddies. Finally, number three is the sappy one. I would strive for more love in my life. And no I do not mean sex and I do not mean love from other people. I have a wonderful wife who loves me unconditionally and both an extended and immediate family that does the same. What I need to work on is the love that I give outwardly. See, I told you it was sappy, and believe me it is not an easy thing for me to do. In fact there are a lot of people out there that are hard to love, and there are a few who just do not deserve it. So even beyond treating other people with kindness and respect, the love I am talking about is more a reverence, awe and a respect for the wonder of life itself. Even with all the crap that gets thrown in our way the old adage turns out to be true..."every day above ground is a good one." So if this was really the last year of my life, I would sell everything I own (accept what I could fit on my bike) take the money and spend it traveling"on my motorcycle, of course. I would visit every state and natural wonder I could find and would meet as many interesting people as possible. When I was done, I would find some lonely dirt road and follow it to the end. I would then get the bike sit by the side of the road and just pass on—romantic...right? But this is not the last year of my life—at least to my knowledge. So I will continue to strive for more love, adventure and health as my years tick by. I will try to treat each day as a gift and I will not wait—until someday—to do the things I really want to do. I will work towards finding a way to do them now. P.S. I was told that there was no way I was riding off into the sunset without my bitch (her words, not mine)...LOL! —Craig Allen Ripley    |
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