The Tribe
What does the tribe mean to you? Back in caveman days being part of the tribe could have meant the difference between life and death. You had to fit in because your life literally depended on it. Nowadays we often feel the need to fit in at the cost of our own well-being. With our lives on show more than ever with the ever-growing technologies, it can sometimes feel like an obligation to fit in, to do things, or act a certain way just so we can be a part of the tribe.
Through my own experience, it seems that when something is in its infancy, that is often when it’s at its purest. It would also seem that at that same time, it’s at its most accepting. BMX in the mid 90’s was just coming back from its near-death only a few years prior so it was a very small group of people. Because of that, it was very accepting of all walks of life. You didn’t need a specific bike, the right clothes or to be into a certain type of music. If you rode a BMX you were in.
As things grow in popularity all these rules seem to arise out of nowhere and suddenly you have to fit a certain mold to be accepted into the tribe. Often these rules are based on a trend or an idea of something that usually one person or a small group of people have decided are the new guidelines. Then our unconscious self-doubt kicks in and we think we have to act a certain way to fit in. This is simply human nature. To scan our surroundings to make sure we are ok and unless you are a narcissist, sociopath, or truly enlightened we all do this which can be exhausting.
I heard someone recently describe this as a rusty suit of armor. A person puts on a shiny suit of armor, the armor looks amazing from the outside all shiny and regal. But for the person wearing it, it is a heavy burden. The armor needs constant care, it needs to be polished, and it needs to be oiled to keep it shiny and working properly. Over time the weight of the armor gets heavier and heavier and the constant upkeep is unsustainable. Hence, the armor becomes rusty, stops moving properly, and is unpleasing to the eye. The person has given all their energy to the armor and forgotten to take care of themself.
When we concern ourselves with other’s opinions it is so restricting to our creative flow. We feel paralyzed unable to move forward and express our full potential. I’m completely guilty of this and even with Rune, I have had some serious spells of imposter syndrome, telling myself you shouldn’t be doing this you don’t belong here. But when we stop worrying about what other people think, when we act and create from purpose and for the person inside us, not the people outside of us then only great things arise. I’ve heard that even Beethoven had a serious fear of other people’s opinions and it wasn’t until he let go of it that he wrote some of his greatest work.
All this to say that bikes have given me and those around me a foundation to be truly ourselves. A strong passion for something can help build resilience in us. We all need something grounding in our lives, something we can turn to when things aren’t quite going our way. When we have the support of others through shared passion we can have the confidence to be who we are. We don’t need to put on that heavy armor to fit in or satisfy someone else’s beliefs, we can just be our authentic selves and thrive.
photos by Simon Weller