Finding Adventure Close To Home

Finding Adventure Close To Home:
Adventure can be found anywhere at any time. You do not have to go far looking for it. You do not have to be lucky enough for it to happen to you. You simply have to recognize that you are already surrounded by adventure. Even in your neighborhood, there are some places you have never gone. I used to take long walks from my house and cut behind businesses and walk along the railroad tracks. I found snakes, deer, turtles, and found the largest cache of blackberries I had ever seen in my life (and still to this day). This was where I saw for the first time a dragonfly catch a meal in flight.

Finding Joy In Everyday Life:
Even at work or around the home there are situations that have never happened before. There are little mysteries and challenges to be overcome. These can be adventures too. Not everyone is capable of this mindset. Some are depressed and are physically incapable of adventure even when it is pointed out to them. I’ve been there and I know there is nothing to say to make you feel better. Just know that it doesn’t last. Others simply lack the skills because no one has shown them where and how to look. That is what I hope to do on this blog: prove by example that adventure can be found anywhere and you don’t have to go far from home to find it. It just takes a little practice.

Here are some tips:

• See things with humor. Instead of discounting absurd interpretations, embrace them. What did you think that shadow was at first? Turn your misfortune into a funny story. If a place is boring, describe your boredom in such superlative terms that you start laughing.
• Make stories out of what you see. Ask yourself “what if?” Could those holes have been made by gnomes? Whenever you get inspiration for a story, look around for more in the same vein.
• Look with fresh eyes and other senses. Ask yourself what you would see if you were unfamiliar with what you were looking at. How would a young child react? A foreigner? An alien from another planet? How would you interpret your experience if you were born deaf or blind?
• Step back and see the larger context. How did the things get here? What is the history? Know you are going to write about it later and start thinking then of all the fancy words you will use to describe it. Plan on bragging about your harrowing tale. When I write about a place or event it is for me like experiencing it all over again. Because writing can really only capture the highlights of what may have taken hours in real life, it always reads better than I remember feeling at the time – but by thinking of what I will write later while I am still there, I have learned to feel this same effect in the moment.
• Whatever is of good report, meditate on these things. Focus on the good. Do not ignore the bad, but look for the good inside of it. Ask yourself what benefit can be gained from your displeasure. Often the greatest good is found inside the greatest bad.
• If possible, go with someone else who can also see adventure. You will each notice things that the other misses, and you will be able to feed on each other’s insights. Friends make a huge difference.

What is the next adventure you will go on?