Hard things reveal character and unlock potential. Also, hard things to align in our worklife are joy and resilience (we don’t often experience elation when we’re bouncing back from setbacks or reflecting on failure), even if we want to work and live with joy. Last month I experienced joyful resilience when I rode bikes with two friends across Western Washington State, the San Juan Islands, and the Olympic Peninsula.
Hard things are teachers. For example, bicycles are typically ridden outside and, in May, they are usually ridden in the sunshine. I am allergic to the Sun, so needless to say, it took resilience, grit, and hydration to ride 60-80km beneath Ra and all His/Their ultraviolet power.
Photo stop on Whidbey Island.
Another thing I should note is that our first day of cycling (about 125km) unfolded against winds that were mostly super-annoying, but also raged toward us at 60-70 kilometers-per-hour from time to time. At one point we had to pedal pretty hard going downhill because, as it turns out, semi-gale-force-winds believe that large rectangles on the sides of bicycles serve as parachutes, not speed foils.
Anyway…
Hard things often lead to learning (and/or are revealed by learning). We learn the most, after all, when we’re uncomfortable.
So, we learned a lot about cycling on windy days and what risks/opportunities such a thing presents (e.g. we risked sleeping in a field on the outskirts of Anacortes and we had the opportunity to ride across a cycling/pedestrian bridge juxtaposed to oil refineries and a highway). We learned how our privilege enabled us to have this awesome experience and, as necessary, adapt to our surroundings (e.g. if I was fried by the Sun or the wind swept Nathan into the Salish Sea we were well positioned to adjust with agility). We learned a lot about civic infrastructure and shared values, too, because it turns out that a lot of Olympic Peninsula citizens love bike highways. Mostly, I learned how important it is to make best friends in our twenties. Busyness abides as our careers grow and our families/relationships grow and change. Friendship is scarce and I am grateful for the pals who joined me at the finish line on this journey.
My best advice for anyone in reading this piece is to stop what you’re doing and consider what you are doing to cultivate and sustain lifelong friendships.
Sometimes they will be sustained on bike trips.
Sometimes these experiences will be super, super windy.
Sometimes they’ll also be sunny, but such things might not be awesome for everyone with whom you’re travelling … because inclusion.
All times you will learn something about your friends and, perhaps more importantly, yourself.