I’m in Alabama, camped along a lake, getting ready for the next three weeks of full-on Heart Sparks activities.
I’m loving this stretch of rest and peace, realizing that my pace has shifted. I’m more interested in staying in a place for a few days, to settle in, explore the landscape and trails, feel the air and smell the trees and bathe in all of the green and light.
I don’t want to be rushing to the next place, but I do what to know where it is.
Yes, I have patches of lonely, and what the hell am I doing? And there are days when I wonder what the point of this all is.
But when I come back to my breath, the water, the birds, the peace I feel, I remind myself to trust that I am exactly where I am supposed to be.
driving north on the Natchez Trace, MS
I have never been what folks would call adventurous. Not with my eating, not with my daily activities and certainly not as a traveler. I’m much more comfortable staying home, putzing, writing, engaging with people one on one.
And yet, here I am, living full-time in my 24 foot motorhome, camped in a city park in the middle of Jackson, MS surrounded by a lake, trees and so much green. And I am most certainly on an adventure.
But every time I’d think about the word Adventure, I felt “less than.” Because I wasn’t trying new things, or stopping in the sweet towns I drove through, or even sampling the local cuisine.
I had to redefine the word so that it felt good to claim it, instead of it making me feel like I was not living up to someone else’s definition of the word.
Adventure doesn’t have to mean thrilling, like sky diving, or hiking to some ridiculously high peak to get an amazing panoramic view. While adventure implies excitement, it doesn’t have to be dangerous.
Adventure can be joyful and fun, curious and delight-full. It is walking a new trail and seeing a frog, smaller than my thumb, hop right across my path. It’s feeling the coolness of the rain-soaked grasses brush against my bare calves, and not caring that my shoes are getting wet.
Adventure means seeing what else there is…. to notice, to feel, to smell, taste, just take in and experience what is right around you. Beyond what is known, familiar, comfortable.
Adventure is driving around a town without my GPS on, just seeing the streets and houses and how people live.
Adventure is walking home on a different trail, trusting my sense of direction.
Adventure is riding my bike on a nature trail, even though the sign says No Bikes Allowed.
For some people, adventure is not knowing where you’ll be staying the next night. I tried it. I didn’t like it. It caused way too much anxiety and stress, even though I trusted it would all work out, and it did.
And this too, is adventure: navigating with my heart, trusting my gut, and believing that it will all work out for the best.
What does adventure look and feel like for you? Click on the Comments to share!
It certainly sounds adventurous to me! You are an adventurer. I like your new layout here, too. Happy Trails!
Thanks Candace!
Wow. I loved that. I feel a lot of it. I haven’t bought my rv yet but am planning to. At this point adventure is waking up in the morning and not having plans for the day. It’s new to me. I’m a planner. Going where the day takes me is an adventure but only if I leave the house. I’m in a new phase of life. Contract ended, moms dementia got bad, then she passed then my dad moved and I emptied and sold the house for him, then he died and I emptied and sold his condo in Florida. Probate in Florida and dealing with my drug addict brother until he passed this past April with a memorial service in July. Was the end of that adventure. It was an adventure. I learned a lot. I did a lot. Now adventure is everything else. My turn. For the first time. Just me. What an adventure.
I enjoyed reading this post. I’m 7.5 months from going full time in a 35′ class A….alone. I find myself getting anxious about the uncertainty of it all. Keeping myself busy getting my rig serviced and checked out. It was helpful to read that perhaps what I’m experiencing is rather normal for the big change in my life. I’ll keep on keeping on.