John Surtees carried on for his journey yonder and my timelines flooded with RIPs and obituaries to the only man you who surmounted the biggest championships on both two and four wheels. Frankly, even I do not know much about the life of the racing legend, the trivia or the wow stories. But one thing I know for sure is that the man enjoyed his time at the helm of those machines. Under those half face helmets and goggles was an expression that showed the resolve to excel and the happiness of challenging your limits nested in the tiny smirk hidden underneath.
We say there will be no Surtees anymore and that is a sad truth. We, over the years, have taught ourselves to be the ace of one than a king of many. We bury ourselves within the limits of our tasks and not go beyond to learn, to help, to admire. The poignant masturbating nature of social media has added to it. You want to click faster pictures of yourself than take efforts to go faster. Like they say, going to Alibaug is not wanderlust.
It is rare to see the incessant want of going fast, on two or in four. It takes courage to accept that good looking mediocracy is not better than the ugly face of pursuing excellence. It takes courage to not evaluate every move by the measure of success but learning. It takes courage to accept defeat and get back up gathering what is left for the second attempt, or the third, or the fourth. It is a matter of belief, belief in yourself and belief in your goals.
Fanaticism as it may be branded or mere stupidity, it is better than the stoic political correctness and idealism that seems to have riddled our generation, stopping them from clean achievements. Schemes, politics and conceit then arises as a part of the competition and that is why you will not see the Surtees or the Sheenes or the Hunts for that matter. May be we could learn from Surtees and push ourselves to be more capable than acceptable!
http://photos.motogp.com/2017/03/10/surtees_31.small.jpg
We say there will be no Surtees anymore and that is a sad truth. We, over the years, have taught ourselves to be the ace of one than a king of many. We bury ourselves within the limits of our tasks and not go beyond to learn, to help, to admire. The poignant masturbating nature of social media has added to it. You want to click faster pictures of yourself than take efforts to go faster. Like they say, going to Alibaug is not wanderlust.
It is rare to see the incessant want of going fast, on two or in four. It takes courage to accept that good looking mediocracy is not better than the ugly face of pursuing excellence. It takes courage to not evaluate every move by the measure of success but learning. It takes courage to accept defeat and get back up gathering what is left for the second attempt, or the third, or the fourth. It is a matter of belief, belief in yourself and belief in your goals.
Fanaticism as it may be branded or mere stupidity, it is better than the stoic political correctness and idealism that seems to have riddled our generation, stopping them from clean achievements. Schemes, politics and conceit then arises as a part of the competition and that is why you will not see the Surtees or the Sheenes or the Hunts for that matter. May be we could learn from Surtees and push ourselves to be more capable than acceptable!
