A Passion for Adventure

Ack. What have I gotten myself into now? That was my first thought when the producer for a local dating show called and told me I’ll be one of the contestants at this week’s taping of the show. What was I thinking? I mean seriously, what is the POINT?

And that’s when I stop thinking for a moment and realize there doesn’t have to be a point. Thinking everything has to have a point is what gets us stuck in a rut to start with. Some things are just for the fun of it—for the experience.

In the movie Into the Wild, the actor playing Chris McCandles said, “The core of man's spirit comes from new experiences.” I dug out my notebook in the dark theater to write it down. Well I just looked it up and the exact quote from the book, based on McCandles’ notes and letters was:

"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."

I believe this is absolute truth. My mom used to organize various outings and called the group Aliveness Adventures. What an appropriate title. I know I feel most alive when trying new adventures. There is some exquisite attraction to the new, unknown. I’m always trying something new. An activity draws my attention and I just have to experience it. FYI, I just read a great article called 39 Ways to Live and Not Merely Exist.

My friends have called some of my adventures crazy. But I’ve come to realize that those who are scared of stepping outside their comfort zones consider those who do so crazy. So be it.

What I think happens with me is I make room for new adventures by being open to them. Nature abhors a vacuum. According to uningenglish.com, the definition is, “This idiom is used to express the idea that empty or unfilled spaces are unnatural as they go against the laws of nature and physics.” My counselor friend Karen told me this once and explained it (somewhat) like this: that when we release something, or have free time, nature will fill it with something. Karen said we’d better make sure we choose what to fill it with because it will be filled. So I fill as much of my time as I can with new experiences.

The key for me to keep experiencing things is to not so much to “feel the fear and do it anyways”. It’s to “quit thinking about it and do it anyways.” Stop asking myself what is the point. And have a new experience.