Two Wheeled Deliverance:
Searching for God in Thunderstorms, Dive Bars, and Old Dirt Roads…
Finding Him In Myself
A Memoir About Motorcycling and the Spiritual Experience
Wake UP!
Two Wheeled Deliverance is less about the fanatical, religious viewpoint on God and is more about the innate spiritual nature that lays slumbering within each and every one of us from the moment that we are born, the innate spiritual nature that we have all been tasked with rediscovering.
We have been taught, from birth, by an industrial, materialistic society, that it is the here and now, the tangible, and the worldly that defines us. We have been taught to mask, to medicate, and to follow blindly. We have everything, and yet, we feel an inexplicable emptiness, a curiosity, and a longing to uncover our true selves, to discover "the meaning of it all," to find our purpose. These THINGS, they no longer bring us happiness. This superficial life no longer bring us satisfaction.
The truth is, we are not merely humans having a simple human experience, nor are we just humans having a more complex, spiritual experience for that matter, but instead, we are the embodiment of God- every one of us, sons and daughters of the universe- spiritual creatures having a very human experience, and trying to make our way back home.
At our very core, we seek experiences before things, friendships and family over enemies, and love above hate. It is, in fact, our quest for the eternal, the intangible, and the other-worldly that defines our experience here on this Earth. It is our Faith, in a world so accustomed to disbelief, which shapes our character.
Two Wheeled Deliverance is an invitation for you to break free from the worldly shackles that bind you, to welcome with open arms the catalyst that brings you closer to spiritual freedom (in my case, it was a Harley Sportster and an unshakable and constant desire for travel), and to discover within you your truest self and entire being, as it's always been, there, awaiting the opportunity to truly live life to its fullest potential, just as God always intended you to.
What chelsea has to say…
“I can never really say for sure whether or not I ever stopped thinking about the road, or whether or not it was that the road never stopped calling to me. Very likely, these two things were one in the same. It didn’t matter if I was at work, at home, or at play, if it was morning, noon, or night, or if it was in my dreams, the constant longing for travel, the constant need to venture out into the world, the excitement I felt towards the thought of everywhere I’ve never been, everyone I’ve never met, and everything I’ve never experienced, it never left me. It was a constant pull towards my innate nature, a constant drive towards the divine, towards spirituality, towards understanding, at long last, the world around me I could never shake had I even wanted to. There is a belief that the universe will continually provide us with many of the same types of situations, people, and experiences over and over again in our lives until we finally allow ourselves to learn from them what they are meant to teach us. Also, there is the idea that that which we focus on expands… It would seem that my (potentially subconscious, soul-level, universe-guided) need to push my limits and test my boundaries and shake my very belief system to the core through travel would only grow stronger and stronger until it was unavoidable in every way. In this way, it was also inevitable that the two things in my life which brought me the most joy, and incited the most passion in me, and forced me to be present and aware and conscious in every way of myself and my surroundings- the two things that never, ever, ever, left my thoughts- would be the way by which I would choose to embark upon my spiritual path. Travel by Motorcycle.”
Chapters
Introduction
Part One
Down Unknown Roads
In Her Footsteps
My Beginnings
The Path of Self-Destruction
Half-Assed Enlightenment
Starting Over
Unexpected Awakenings & Painful Truths
Broke, Trapped, & Lovesick
Get Lost to Get Found
Part Two
Setting Out
Remembering Again
The Land of Enchantment
The Good vs. The Bad
The Downright Ugly
Walking in Faith
Finding God in Myself
Every Moment is Right
A Common Connection
Conviction Despite Hardship
Shattered
PART Three
Be Not Afraid of Going Slowly, Be Afraid Only of Standing Still
Finding Happy in a Hospice
Your Tribe Defines Your Vibe
The Powerful Art of Detachment
Joy Despite Suffering
Family Matters
Do Not Be Afraid
God is in the Experiences, Not the Things
Excerpt from Chapter 1: Down Unknown Roads
If the first time I ever climbed on the back of a motorcycle felt like being born again, then the first time I ever climbed onto my very own motorcycle, settling into the seat and feeling instantly bonded, instantly unchained, felt like meeting my maker.
It felt like home.
There is something incredibly spiritual about riding a motorcycle- a contentment I have never known, a passion I have never felt so strongly, so quickly, so deeply, a freedom I have never experienced.
There is no yesterday on the road, and no tomorrow either, only the winding road ahead, the sun on your shoulders, the wind in your hair, and the perfectness of each and every solitary moment- a feeling of total and complete presence.
The roar of the engine beneath you drowns out the world, yet there you are seeing it- all of it- for the first time in glorious technicolor all around you, like a child taking its first steps or a blind man getting his sight back, beckoning you to grab life up with a ferocity and an intensity that can only lend itself to truly living a free life.
It tests your strength, your will power, your flexibility, your adaptability, your perseverance, and, most of all, your ability to love, wholly and deeply and unconditionally.
It is a brotherhood and sisterhood, bonding you instantly to those that also dare to reach out and touch all these things at the depths of their souls as well, in spite of their own fear, their hesitation, and their shortcomings.
The love it filled me with grabbed ahold of my failing and struggling heart and shocked me back to life again.
Those early miles when I was still learning saw me holding on tight and then letting loose more than a few times, clenching my fists and jaw in fear then laughing out loud in joy. They saw me deeply struggling to understand many of the more counterintuitive aspects of steering and riding a bike in general and then breaking through to a greater understanding of the entire process and experience.
I was sunburned, rained on, windblown, and covered in dirt and bugs.
Mostly, I learned I was FAR from being where I wanted to be as a rider, but I was also pretty fucking decent at it. I learned I should never stop learning from riding, and even after 100, or 1,000, or 10,000 miles, if I’m still looking forward to another 10,000 miles, then I should keep pursuing it.
Life leads us down many unpredictable, harrowing, and challenging roads. It causes us to question everything we ever thought to be true. We bend, we mold, we change, we settle, and then, once more, are forced to question those new beliefs as well, over and over and over again until uncertainty occupies more of our thoughts than certainty. I think of that old saying, “The more I see, the less I know.”
We’re faced with tight corners, blind spots, construction, wind, rain, thunder, lightning, and nasty conditions which make travel difficult for the already weary and winded, the sick and the suffering. It’s painful to admit sometimes that these realities are much more common than the sunny skies and easy curves we constantly seek.
And yet, because we believe them to be there- we catch glimpses of them in smiles from strangers and the laugh of a child and the unprompted kindness of others- we keep seeking them. But, how do we actually know for sure that if we keep seeking them that we are sure to find them? Will we ever find the answers we need or is it just hope that these glimpses aren’t empty promises that pushes us onward on a never-ending quest to find happiness against all odds and adversity?
The thought that we will undoubtedly fail at achieving this goal will cause most to cave and forget to try without even giving it a second thought. And yet, those brave souls who dare a second thought, we seek even fleeting, bittersweet, and sacred moments over failure, and we hear a voice that beckons us on. We see the road signs laid out ahead of us. “One step at a time, slowly if you have to. But don’t stop. Don’t cave under the weight. Happiness ahead.”
And, so, we trudge ahead, unwavering, hopeful that this new, unpredictable, harrowing, and challenging road will be the one to finally lead us home to that place from which we came from to rest at last among the stars, happy and contented once and for all.
