This is NOT an adventure.
Well … it might be an adventure, if the Mona Lisa had special personal significance for you … if it had been a life time dream to see it … if you had climbed out of deep, dark hole or faced your biggest fear because you so badly wanted to see it … if just seeing it shifted something fundamental to your core.
This IS an adventure.
Well … it might not be an adventure if you’re ill-prepared to handle the danger, or if you’re only doing it because someone goaded you into it, or a sponsor just wants extreme footage to advertise their product.
This is NOT an adventure
Unless it is an adventure because you are thrilled when you see something grow from a tiny seed into food for your family, or unless watching the interplay of sunlight and soil, water and time reminds you of the wonder of our Universe, or unless your fingers call you to come dig in the dirt.
This IS an adventure
Unless it is not an adventure because you already know this isn’t who you want to have adventures with, or you really wanted a tiny ceremony at a mountain cabin, or you spent money you didn’t really have and invited people you really didn’t know or enjoy, and now what?
Thinking about what to pack
for the upcoming rabbit trail adventure in Mexico
Why am I calling this an adventure and not just a trip? What needs to be packed into my kit in order for this to be a true adventure … and what needs to be left out?
IN: a dollop of curiosity to balance the uncertainty of following a poorly marked, boulder-punctuated path, with only a north star glow guiding each step.
IN: a shiver of fear awakening patience with my own ability to safely navigate new landscapes and trust in the kindness of strangers.
IN: beauty binoculars and wonder-spotting scope.
OUT: expectations. Period.
IN: a portfolio of generous intentions to share along the way.
IN: many baskets capable of holding the beauty and wonder collected for sharing when I return.
IN: a cauldron of confident courage to ask for what I need and what the adventure wants. Find the helpers; pay attention to synchronicity.
OUT: comfort zone whining words.
What do you imagine Helen packs on her adventures?
"I still have a Gypsy sense of adventure. I don’t think I have slept in the same bed for more than three or four months my whole life. I am always planting vegetables that I never get to eat and flowers that I never see flower. I have always moved around the world."
- Helen Mirren
Find a little space for a tiny sewing kit, some BandAids and a tube of ointment. They don’t weigh much, and you never know when they’ll come in handy. 🩹🪡
Adventure? Four things only: Passport, camera, American Express card, and tooth brush. Everything else you can get wherever "there" is.