I recently purchased a 1973 Yamaha CT3 and fell in love with the much bigger world it offers. Although I also have a Kawasaki Vulcan 500 that soon became a trusted friend, she was never able to satisfy a calling that hardtop roads alone offered. Chain stores, chain restaurants and clogged roadways just don't get me excited. My ten brothers and I were introduced to moving every year or two with my Mom and Dad's search for brighter horizons. Whereas most of my brothers settled in towns and fashioned homes and families where they finished school, I came to see that the move itself was home for me. So here I am now in my 39th home in the state of Kentucky. The moment I stepped aboard my CT3 I felt a thrill unlike any I'd experienced on my cruiser. Now, instead of just hardtop, I find myself surrounded by greater horizons of my own and instead of feeling as though I had to dominate the bike, I simply felt that she was an extension of myself for she, too, yearned for adventure.

Welcome, very well put intro

Greetings from Tennessee 

Welcome from NZ & look forward to you input & stories. Blimey, 10 brothers & 39th home must be some sort of record. I nearly move once, but too much junk to move so thought better of it.

RT325, as the number nine son in the lineup I learned quite early that possessions can often become the chain that binds us. Few people will ever know just how much work each move required of such a large family and how much angst my dear Mother endured in her sometimes vain attempts to hang onto all that she was endeared to. In the end, what became most important was keeping the family together and learning to separate herself from those things she loved and those she could live without. We boys would have ample opportunity to learn the same lessons, but I would discover that I thrived in that setting and to this day I seek more than anything to accumulate moments worthy of hanging onto.

In 1968, my Mom and Dad were offered an opportunity to move to Australia. Australia was, at that time, actively seeking to lure large American families to that far away land. As much as the chance was intriguing, Australia would assist us once we arrived but the sheer costs of the move, both financial and emotional, would be more than many members could recon with. I have, in my own time, moved to both American coasts and tasted of both the far northern and southern states. Whereas I did move to Laos and Thailand and loved the wonderful people I came to know and live with, I always wondered about how the trajectory of our lives would have been impacted had we taken Australia up on its offer.

Life is an adventure. If you had moved to Aus, you would have had a bit different adventure in its details, than you have had now.

But the end result would have been the same.  You will not have become Bill Gates, and you would not have become a beggar.  You may have been poorer and happier, or you may have been richer and less happy.  Money and perceived success do not equate to happiness.

The secret of life is to be happy in the skin in which you reside. If you do not, change it.  If you feel you cannot, obviously you are happy enough as you are and do not feel the extra effort necessary.

Ooh that came out a bit more zen like than I thought.  But it does sum up my attitude to life.  You bought into it, you own it.

At this point, I will reveal a bit more of who I am than I should..  Very silly to do so.  But in your case, do not sweat the details...

A quote from Silver Birch ( up to you to look him up)  " You are only responsible for your own life, no one elses".

Happiness and satisfaction comes from the journey, not the destination.  The longed for destination always disappoints.

 

Tinkicker that is some deep stuff you just laid down there.
I read it twice and liked it even more the second time!

Welcome from Florida