“All the lonely people, where do they all come from?
All the lonely people, where do they all belong?”
— The Beatles
We all desire to belong – with someone, to something, at someplace.
As we began our journey to cycle around the world, more often than not, we were 2 lone cyclists on the road. We did have each other. But even together, we yearned for something more.
Let’s admit it. Us heretics – world-changers, over-achievers, there’s-gotta-be-more-ers – people on the paths less taken, often feel that we belong nowhere.
Since grade-school, both of us have had euphemistic adjectives for “weirdo” decorate our graduation yearbooks. Even when looked upon as a leader, even when surrounded by community, we still feel like the odd one out.
How then, do we belong?
We create a tribe.
But that is not enough. To create a effective tribe, you need a cause. A cause where everyone feels like they are part of something bigger.
That’s what we learnt when we cycled with 3,000 other cyclists on the roads of Mexico City on a Thursday night – ringing our bicycle bells, chanting at the top of our lungs (in a language we hardly knew), making pedestrians and drivers aware that cycling could change the world – we felt a sense of belonging. That night, we belonged to a group of change-agents united in a greater cause.
We learnt how to start a MOVEMENT:
The stories in this video taught us the most valuable lesson about creating a tribe and starting a movement.
This lesson has inspired us when we felt meh, motivated us when we felt discouraged; and reminded us to show up, even when we felt alone.
It enabled us to turn a documentary project about two lone girls cycling around the world into a global movement – of dreams inspiring dreams – 4,000+ strong and growing everyday.
You and us, we all desire to belong.
But before you go out there, seeking for your sense of belonging – ask yourself:
What do you stand for?
Who are you showing up for?
Where exactly, do you wanna belong?
Your tribe+movement leaders,
@taynval
P.S. Keep this movement growing. Join our tribe and share this post!
