The Lone Wolf

I've posted quite a bit, on this blog, about my story and about the importance of Brotherhood. What I want to write about today is a little different. At first it may seem to be the opposite of brotherhood, but its not. This is another facet of brotherhood. This is about being complete in your own being. This is about being a 'Lone Wolf '.

I have spoken a lot about how important and desirable it is to be a part of a brotherhood. But a brotherhood is not like a colony of bees who are completely dependant on each other. If we cannot live and act on our own, if we can't stand on our own feet, we are not ready to be part of a brotherhood. Brothers are not several parts of a whole, they are complete individuals on their own. Only when they can stand independently, are they ready to be a part of a brotherhood.

Let's look at wolves. Some people will tell you that a lone wolf is not natural because wolves are a pack animal. These people are, what I like to call, wrong. They are partially right because wolves do hunt in packs. They are also partially right because wolves do interact on a very social level. But wolves do not form herds.

Many animals form herds for protection and for social reasons. Herds have one leader and the rest are followers. Leaders of herds are constantly being challenged for the leadership. If a challenger wins the leadership, the rest of the herd will abandon the first leader and will follow the new leader.

If you look around you, I'm sure you can see the same thing happening in human society. Indeed, we can see the same thing in our churches. The pastor will preach about something and most of the congregation will simply accept whatever is said as fact. One leader and most of the rest follow. I say most because some of the people in the congregation will be looking up different scriptures to make sure that what is being preached is in line with the rest of scripture. These few people do not blindly follow what someone else says. These few people are independent thinkers. They weigh what is said against their own beliefs and decide, in their own mind, whether to accept the teaching or not. These people are not easily swayed with emotion and will not be carried away with the latest fads of belief. Because they don't follow the herd, they are often shunned by the leader of the herd and by the herd itself. They are branded "not a team player" and sometimes called a "lone wolf".

Wolves are independent thinkers. Several wolves hunting in a pack operate like a co-operative. They will work together to accomplish a goal but they are still independent of each other. Wolves are quite often seen alone or out teaching their cubs how to hunt. We have wolves living about 4 miles west of our yard. It is rare to see more than one at a time.

Independent thinkers, like wolves, are what make up a Brotherhood. People who can and do think for themselves can band together for their mutual benefit, but they are still unique individuals. This is the big difference from a herd.

I wanted to get involved with a motorcycle club. I looked around for quite a while, trying to find a club or group to join. I didn't want to join a 1%er club and I didn't want to join a club that spent their time in the bar. I like to ride and if I was going to join a motorcycle club, I wanted to spend most of the time riding. I met some great guys who rode with the CMA (Christian Motorcycle Association) and I liked what they were doing and the fact that they liked to ride, but when I looked into it, I found out that they have 45 pages of rules to agree to. It seemed that they were trying to come up with a rule to apply to every possible situation. I thank God for them but it didn't seem like the right fit for me. I kept looking and I finally found the "Lone Wolves". The Lone Wolves are all independent free spirits like myself who just want to get together and ride. There are no dues, you don't have to ride a certain make or style of bike, and everyone is welcome. I knew instantly that this was the place for me.

I believe that God led me to the Lone Wolves, partly because I'm such a misfit that it's the only place I would fit, and partly because I get to rub shoulders with every type of biker out there. I can wear my patch proudly in any company. I can wear it to a Hells Angels meet or wear it to church. I am accepted as a brother biker no matter where I go. The patch says to the world that I don't fit in any conventional pigeon holes and bikers understand that.

I am an independent thinker and a loner but I am also part of a brotherhood.

I am proud to be a  "Lone Wolf "