Creating Our Own Great Adventures – It May Be Easier Than You Think
11.27.2007 | Chris BaileySome of us run with folks like Jory Des Jardins and some of us can only (for now) aspire to their adventures. Guess I sort of fall into that latter category. Perhaps I’m still basking in the afterglow of the big adventure that brought me and my family to Texas, but I’ve been less than daring in taking in new life experiences lately.
This morning, though, I find myself reinvigorated and ready to seek out some new adventures. My inspiration comes from Jory’s latest post where she talks about some of her own internal conflicts with seeking out real life adventure. But then she launches into her past month and reveals that – a trip to glamorous Monaco notwithstanding – her everyday life is actually rather adventurous.
There are two types of adventure we can seek out in our lives. The first is the grand version, which is what we usually equate to adventure. This is the bold backpacking trip through Costa Rica, sailing the Greek Isles, rafting the Gauley River in West Virginia, or just packing the car and setting off for a yet-unknown destination. These are experiences out of the normal flow of life. And for many of us who actually have responsibilities like jobs and children, these grand adventures are few and far between. That doesn’t mean they’re out of reach, they just may not happen as often as we’d like.
The second type of adventure can be found in the everyday. These experiences are accessible to each of us, it just requires more imagination and a willingness to think differently about what adventure really is. For me, adventure is about seeking out something new with some element of risk involved. It should get my heart pounding and evoke feelings of excitement and yes…a little fear. The everyday experience may then be chatting with a stranger (I’m kinda shy so this does get my heart racing a bit), volunteering for a meals-on-wheels drive (something I’ve never done before), or submitting an article I’ve been working on for magazine publication (I have no idea if my stuff is good enough). Those are a few of my examples…what about you?
Thanks Jory for the inspiration. And for you…what adventure can you get yourself into in the next 30 days? Any adventures – both grand and everyday – which have had a meaningful impact on your own life lately?
3 Responses to “Creating Our Own Great Adventures – It May Be Easier Than You Think”
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C,
You’re welcome! And thank you for assuaging the guilt I felt writing what I thought might be the most mundane stuff to other people. I love the everyday! Lately I crave it.
What about waking up an hour or two earlier than you usually do? That way, you’ll have a different kind of morning than the one you’re used to seeing everyday? You might catch that moon still in the sky or that sunrise. You can spend twice as long with everything you do- from your breakfast to choosing what to wear.
Jory, I think I’ve always known that there was magic in the everyday. However, like you, I haven’t been sure whether that magic (or more appropriately, the magic as I experience it) was interesting to others. More and more, I’m coming to find that it is. Keep on sharing your life and what makes you Jory.
Jen, I love it. I’m typically an early riser and I can honestly say there is magic and adventure in watching the stars slowly wink out as the sun peeks over the eastern horizon. And then every sunrise is different. Or foggy mornings…I actually love those.