Adventure

It's been whispering my name ever since I can remember...that small voice that lit my wanderlust. Maybe it's because I was born to American parents in England and was in-utero as we cruised across the Atlantic. I felt the pull to see as much as the world as possible. Apparently, my first camping trip was when I was about three, and we roamed the United States, pitching a Coleman tent and sleeping on cots and in lumpy sleeping bags throughout my childhood. My father, in particular, liked to get out and explore, hiking on trails, spending time at ranger talks and in visitor centers, looking for the wonder that you find being in nature. It stuck as not much inspires me more than looking forward to my next adventure.

The idea of having an adventure can mean different things to different people. Some might be drawn to bungee jumping, whitewater rafting, abseiling or hitchhiking. Those adrenaline-provoking, heart-pounding experiences which are both exciting and terrifying all in the same moment. For others, having an adventure may be on the opposite end of the spectrum-undertaking a new course of study or trying a different food. So what sounds like an adventure to me, might not be the same for you. 

Whatever it is that makes you feel uncomfortable, yet excited at the same time, is your adventure and it's important to find it as often as possible.

Having an adventure means stepping out of our personal box of comfort, stepping beyond our normal boundaries, and experiencing something from a new or different perspective. Traveling the world has given me one major lesson -a broader world view and perspective. When I've been away traveling and return to wherever home might be, my previously parochial view has been altered. It teaches empathy and compassion. It offers an education that can never be taught in any school or structured system. It connects us to each other and to our own selves of self-reliance and curiosity.

To approach something with adventure in mind, go someplace you've never been. It might be something in your hometown that's off your well-worn path, or it might be buying a one-way ticket to some exotic place in the world that you've only ever dreamed about going to. Say "yes" to the inner calling of travel and exploration and try to avoid having to have everything be perfectly in order before you head off. Why delay what you can do now? What are you waiting for?

Some of the most exciting times I've had unfolded without having a firm plan in place. It reinforces the practice of presence. It connects us to meeting our basic needs of food, transport, and shelter and, in doing so, much of the peripheral details of life that we can become overly obsessed about begin to subside. 

I know I will travel for as long as I'm able, particularly reinforced as I bear witness to the shrinking world of my own Mother, who has dementia. An adventure for her might be getting her out for a pedicure and frozen yogurt. As we never know what's next, what I hope is next is my willingness to say yes to the next thing that scares me a little bit and brings a smile of anticipation simultaneously.

I'm packing my big boots. I'm off...to have an adventure and I hope to hear about yours when I return. And to quote Winnie the Pooh:

"When you see someone putting on his Big Boots, you can be pretty sure an Adventure is going to happen."

~A.A. Milne