The Search For Enlightenment

I spent much of today with a whole bunch of friends, old and new. Meeting up in Christchurch, we went off on a group ride around the New Forest, on quiet back roads, up and down some interesting hills and taking in a pit stop at the Needles Eye restaurant in Lymington.

Following the invitation from Mike, my Dark Passenger had a bit of fun with me. ‘Will you be able to keep up with them?’ ‘They’ll all be friends, maybe they won’t accept you’. Stuff like that.

In the event he couldn’t have been more wrong. Everyone was very friendly, made me feel very welcome and, as you might expect, were keen to talk about anything to do with cycling.

Whilst I enjoy the time I spend cycling alone, to or from work, or out playing on the Purbecks, riding with other people is great fun and can often spur you on to greater effort and performance.

As you might expect, Daisaku Ikeda has a few wise words to say about friends and shared ideas and suffering …

There is no true joy in a life lived closed up in the little shell of the self. When you take one step to reach out to people, when you meet with others and share their thoughts and sufferings, infinite compassion and wisdom well up within your heart. Your life is transformed.