Contributed by Stephanie Staples at Your Life Unlimited
I recently got sick at the airport. Luckily, I met a doctor!
Imagine my shock when he told me I had a terminal illness.
***
The adventure begins where plans end.
What does adventure mean to you? A recent ‘full-day adventure’ package in Central America had me pondering this question. The day included: zip lining, rappelling, rock climbing, horseback riding, white water tubing and ended with volcanic mud bath/hot springs. It was a great day. Period. It was.
And…
I still found myself questioning if this was an adventure to me? It was fun, it was interesting, it was beautiful, but was it an adventure (to me)?
So I looked up the definition:
ADVENTURE: an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity, especially the exploration of unknown territory
How can it be that zip-lining in Costa Rica does not feel like an adventure (to me)? I felt selfish, greedy, spoiled even thinking this way.
But…I’ve done these (or similar things) before, I felt safe, I felt that someone else was in control, I knew how it would end and standing in line with a dozen other people waiting for my turn did not seem adventurous (to me).
Now trying taking a path less traveled or new to me – that’s an adventure to me.
Finding my way when I am lost – that’s an adventure to me.
Who I meet along the way, that’s an adventure to me.
Handling all the emotions that bubble out, that’s an adventure to me.
For me, the adventure begins where the planning ends.
So it may be fun and it may be frustrating.
It may be quick or prolonged.
There may be laughing and/or crying involved.
Most likely it will be emotional and memorable!
Adventure calls me to be where I am not. It’s a bit of a gamble and it begs me to ditch security.
Adventure (to me) isn’t hanging off a cliff, it’s an attitude to experience everyday things with curiosity and gusto.
As somebody smarter than me once said,
“It’s better to live one day like a lion than
100 years like a sheep.”
What does adventure mean to you?
Who do you enjoy having adventures with?
Where does your adventure live?
Is it time to plan, acknowledge or design one?
Creating your own adventure, it’s just one more way to Live Your Life, Unlimited!
* Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), conferred by the National Speakers Association is the speaking profession’s international measure of professional platform proficiency. Less than 10 percent of speakers have earned this credential and are recognized as some of the best in their fields. Stephanie was one of only five professional speakers in Canada (and the only woman) to attain this designation in 2013.
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