The Rider and the Road of Thought -

By Roshan Jayasinghe

As a lifelong motorcycle rider, I’ve come to recognize something profound:

The road isn’t just out there, it’s also within us.

We ride not only across highways and trails, but through thoughts, feelings, doubts, and moments of clarity.
Some rides are smooth, others stormy.
Some thoughts carry joy. Others bring pain.
And just like the road, most of our inner world is unpredictable and unmapped.

But here’s the powerful truth I’ve come to live by:

All thoughts are imagination.
They are not truth. They are not identity.
They are not destiny, unless we choose to ride with them.

Thoughts Are Like Road Noise

Every motorcycle makes noise. The engine hums, the chain clicks, the tires sing across the asphalt.
But not every sound means something is wrong. Not every vibration needs a reaction.

The same is true of the mind.

Most of our thoughts are background noise, fleeting, imagined, conditioned echoes from the past or projections into the future. But we give them power when we believe they define us.

We suffer not because of reality, but because we believe the unquestioned stories in our heads.

Thoughts will come. That’s natural.
But suffering comes when we mistake those thoughts for who we are, when we act on fear as if it were truth, or chase joy as if it lives somewhere else.

When we begin to see that thoughts are simply imagination, we reclaim our power. We learn to choose which ones to ride with, which ones to release, and which ones to observe in silence.

That’s the beginning of inner freedom.

Gear vs. Awareness

Every rider knows: You don’t get on a bike without gear.

Helmet. Gloves. Jacket. Boots.
Sometimes, a Bluetooth headset, a GPS, or a custom seat for comfort.

We prepare for the road, not because it guarantees safety, but because it helps us meet the unknown with presence and protection.

In life, we do the same.
We wear the “gear” of our routines, beliefs, relationships, knowledge, even coping mechanisms.
We carry comforts, strategies, and spiritual tools like armor, hoping to shield ourselves from suffering.

And here’s the thing:

Sometimes, that gear saves us.

When life throws us down, grief, illness, betrayal, fear, that inner gear matters.
A supportive thought. A daily breathwork practice. A book that lifts you. A trusted friend. A therapist. A prayer.

These are not weakness. These are wisely chosen tools that can soften the fall and protect your spirit.

But gear alone doesn’t make the rider.
Wearing a helmet doesn’t teach you how to lean into a curve.
Having the best boots doesn’t teach you to balance at a stop.

It’s your awareness that makes you a master.
It’s how consciously you wear your gear, and how gracefully you respond when the road changes beneath you.

So yes, the gear matters. Thoughtful mental habits, spiritual tools, and support systems help us heal and navigate.
But they are not substitutes for presence. They are there to serve, not to define us.

We become the master riders life intended us to be not by avoiding falls, but by rising with wisdom, fully awake to what the moment requires.

You Are the Rider, Not the Bike

We often believe our thoughts are “us.”
We even believe our pain is us. Our circumstances, our past, our fear.

But you are not the bike. You are not the noise. You are not even the road.

You are the rider.

The conscious one who chooses which thought to ride with.
The one who adjusts, balances, pauses, accelerates.
The one who learns through movement, not perfection.

When we stop identifying with every thought and every reaction, we remember our true nature:
Presence.
Awareness.
Freedom.

And that freedom isn’t loud. It’s not dramatic.
It’s quiet. Like the feeling when you ride into the open, wind against your chest, nothing to prove, just fully alive.

Don’t Just Avoid Suffering, Ride Through It Consciously

We live in a world obsessed with avoiding pain.
Quick fixes. Numb-out habits. Endless distractions.

But avoiding suffering is like trying to dodge every puddle or pothole, you’ll never get anywhere.

Some rain must be ridden through.
Some discomfort must be felt and understood, not feared.

Suffering isn’t a sign you’ve failed.
It’s a sign you’re human.
What matters is how you meet it, not with panic, not with denial, but with presence.

And as we stop running from suffering and start riding with it, we discover:
Even the darkest stretches of road hold lessons.
Even the detours teach us about strength, grace, and surrender.

The Road Is Yours

So here’s what I’ve learned from a lifetime on two wheels, and a lifetime inside my own mind:
• Your thoughts are not facts.
• Your gear is support, not identity.
• Your suffering is not your shame. It’s part of the terrain.
• Your joy isn’t somewhere out there, it’s in the way you ride.

You are not the engine noise.
You are not the bumps.
You are not the map.

You are the rider.

And when you ride with awareness, gear thoughtfully chosen, thoughts carefully discerned, you don’t just survive the road.

You become one with it.

About the Author

Roshan Jayasinghe is a humanist thinker and emerging writer based in California. With a background in administration and a deep passion for social equity, he explores the intersections of politics, identity, and compassion through a lens grounded in nature’s own self-correcting wisdom.

Roshan Jayasinghe

Rooted in the belief that humanity can realign with the natural order where balance, regeneration, and interdependence are inherent. Roshan’s reflections invite readers to pause, question, and reimagine the systems we live within. His writing seeks not to impose answers, but to spark thought and awaken a deeper awareness of our shared human journey. Roshan will be sharing weekly articles that gently challenge, inspire, and reconnect us to what matters most.