“If life is not an adventure it is hardly worth living.” Elizabeth Boyle
This quote got me thinking about some of my recent adventures
I love adventure! This summer we took our son and two granddaughters camping on a beautiful lake. The girls and I rented a pedal boat and decided we would pedal all the way across the lake. About three-quarters of the way across, we heard thunder! You can bet we pedaled as fast as we possibly could, laughing and panting, and arrived back at the dock just before the storm arrived! Adventure!
Another of our sons recently put up a rope swing into his swimming pond. After watching kids and adults alike enjoying the swing over and over, I decided I had to try it. Adventure! I hit the water sooner than I expected and so I was still grabbing the big breath when I went under. I came up sputtering and coughing. Of course, my public health knee-jerk reaction is to cough into my elbow. Do you know how hard it is to cough and swim at the same time?!
I even enjoy vicarious adventures. I used to be “Grannie with guts” at the local climbing gym. Although I no longer do rock climbing for a variety of reasons, I enjoyed the pictures of my son’s climb of Grand Teton in Wyoming. And I enjoy hearing stories of other people’s trips to interesting places.
So “adventure” is more that an experience one has oneself. Realizing this, I began reflecting on what an “adventure” is and also the deeper question of why does adventure make life worth living? I think it is the “spirit” of adventure that brings “life” to our living. This spirit opens us up, pushes us to really live rather than drive numbly down the road—whether that is an actual road or a metaphorical one. The spirit of adventure wakes me up to look around and see what’s around me. That openness made me notice the quality of light this morning while driving through Massachusetts. Last night’s rain had cleared the air and washed the trees. The early morning light seemed to glow bright and green.
As Dennis (my spouse) and I talked about adventure and openness and the quality of the light, we decided that we would sum up our perspective with a modification of Boyle’s quote:
If your life is not an adventure, you are sleep-walking. Wake up!
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