I love a good adventure. Those life defining moments when you step out of your comfort zone and travel to somewhere you’ve never been before.
And while most of the time I tend to think of adventure as some excursion into a far-off land, recently my mind has been challenged by a different notion. The notion that adventure has just as much to do with mindset as it does with location.
I’ve been incredibly fortunate over my life and experienced incredible generosity that has allowed me to do a lot of exploring. I’ve had people sponsor my trips, when I’ve gone to help with community building projects in other countries. And at other times I’ve worked hard and saved or found ways to go on amazing adventures that were just for the experience.
I’ve traveled cheap and stayed with people along the way, and I’ve traveled more “high style” where I didn’t have to worry about where every penny was going (this usually takes some serious planning and saving in my world, but very worth it!) All of it is wonderful.
Experiencing other cultures; learning, tasting new foods, making friends, expanding my view of the world – to me this is what makes traveling an adventure worth creating.
And while these are always incredible life experiences, I still like to have a home base – a place to put down roots, to make friends and build relationships. The night I got the phone call confirming that I did, in fact, have a brain tumor, one of the first things I did was go across the street to my wonderful friend to cry, get a hug, and talk it through (without freaking out my kids!).
Relationships like that – with someone who lives in your community - don’t usually happen overnight. In my experience it happens when I'm in a place long enough, and I make an effort to connect and share life experiences with other people. I’m so thankful for the longevity that helped that relationship grow. When I needed it most, it was right there.
Living a life that is always on the move, and changing locations can be fun, (and there are people for which that lifestyle is a good fit.) But I’ve learned that, personally, I thrive the most when I’m in a place where I’m known and loved and can give and receive encouragement. So, for me, that means staying in one place to build local community and then going out for adventures.
But those epic, across the world adventures don’t happen every day, especially when I’m intentionally building local relationships, building gardens, etc. Yet I still have a real longing for adventure, so that means I need to get creative in how I fill that. Recently I’ve learned a valuable lesson. I’ve learned that I can have amazing adventures that are right outside my front door. And a lot of it depends on attitude and perspective.
This past weekend I was feeling the need for adventure. I wanted to explore and to feel a sense of awe. So we (my family crew and I) decided to explore a little treasure right down the street from us. A nature preserve called “Back Bay” in Newport Beach, California US. I’ve been there before, many times throughout my life in fact, but I knew that a little bit of open “wild” space would be just the thing for my longing for adventure.
And that’s when it hit me. An adventure is just as much about attitude as it is about location. We can go across the ocean, or a few miles down the road - but if our hearts are open to experiencing things in a new way and open to beauty and awe - we can have an adventure.
And bringing my boys there for their second visit brought even more delight, as if I was experiencing it again for the first time. Seeing them share their excitement with my husband, who hadn’t been there in years, was a joy, and it made it even richer. It filled up my soul to see the wide-open area where fresh water meets salt, and birds soared overhead.
What it renewed in me and reminded me of is that while adventure is often about getting into a new space, it can also be about seeing the things close to you in a fresh new way, or sharing that with someone.
So while we can’t always go to some far off destination, we can choose to have adventure. By being open to seeing things with fresh perspective, by sharing experiences with others, and by exploring (or re-experiencing) things close to home, we can expand our world and bring adventure, right outside our front door.