Earlier this month I hosted an evening with a wonderful group of women during which we explored the theme of ADVENTURE. We discussed the fact that adventure (often defined as something unusual or exciting that takes you a little (or a lot) out of your comfort zone) isn’t limited to scaling high peaks in remote corners of the world. Adventure means very different things to different people. Whatever calls and excites your spirit can be an adventure. You might be drawn to physical adventures, outdoor adventures, spiritual adventures, musical adventures, culinary adventures, literary adventures, creative adventures… Anything at all!
When we start to dream about our ideal adventures, however, we often limit ourselves with all the reasons why they’re not possible. We might think our dream is too impractical, too selfish, too expensive, too risky etc. While it’s true that your dream adventure might not be practical or possible right now, allowing yourself to dream about adventures that excite your spirit opens you up to possibility and can allow new ideas and insights about how to make them happen bubble up to the surface.
In addition to dreaming about adventure on a larger scale, it is also possible to be adventurous in our everyday lives. When we turn our minds to it there are so many simple and accessible ways of injecting a little more adventure into our every day.
If you always buy your coffee from the same place, you might decide to try a new cafe one day each week. If you walk the same way to the train station each morning, you might decide to walk a different way every now and then. You could try a new recipe, read a different type of book than the ones you normally read, try out a new podcast…
While big, one off, out of the ordinary adventures are thrilling and exciting to think about and plan, mini daily adventures can keep life fun and engaging too! Being adventurous means stretching yourself a little, mixing things up, doing things a bit differently every now and then. Adventure helps us stay open, engaged and inspired. Here are a few ways you might like to make ADVENTURE part of your every day:
1. When you get up in the morning ask yourself ‘what is one small thing I can do today to be more adventurous?’. Write it on a piece of paper and keep it beside your bed as a reminder.
2. Try being more spontaneous. Being spontaneous doesn’t have to mean making wild and rash decisions. It can be as simple as breaking out of your usual routine once in awhile.
3. Engage with your inner child and try to see the world through the eyes of a child. Look around with curiosity, engage your imagination, be more playful and you’ll start to find wonder in things you usually take for granted.
4. Seek out books, podcasts, poems or images that embody the spirit of adventure for you and spend a little time each day engaging with them for inspiration andenjoyment.
5. Carve out some time each day to disconnect from the busyness of life and take a few moments to re-connect with your breath. Even a few deep breaths will help open you up to new possibilities.
