Blog Post 9/14/2009

Recently I’ve been watching a film called Long Way Down; the follow-up to the documentary film A Long Way Round. The premise  is that you take a couple of well (or well enough) healed individuals, in this case actor Ewan McGreggor and friend Charlie Boorman, put them on motorbikes and follow them as they circumnavigate the globe.

Paraphrasing Ewan, “this is the type of adventure every boy dreams about but few get the opportunity to do.”

We all have dreams, adventures and aspirations that we’ve held onto for years now. Some of these may go all the way back to our childhood. While I believe that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to I understand that often times the idea of the adventure is more important than the adventure itself.

My Little Adventures

The aforementioned films get my blood pumping to do a long adventure motorcycle ride. At the moment however I am not in a position to make that happen. After several days being removed from the film I realize that, while I would like to make such an adventure happen immediately, it really is not at the top of my list of priorities.

I’m sure this is true for many people. Instead I satisfy some small cravings by finding small adventures that can be accomplished quickly. To satisfy this small craving my small adventure was to forgo driving on the streets that carry me effortlessly to my destination and instead hop onto the gravel service road next to the train tracks.

In the heart of a city of nearly 1.5 million residents I find myself surrounded by trees and wildlife with not another soul around. My motorbike slides into ruts, pushes me back and forth as it fights for footing on the large loose gravel. This ride is an adventure, a little adventure.

I take these little adventures as a way of reminding myself of my place in the world and as a way of re-opening my mind to new possibilities.

Daily Little Adventures

On a day-to-day basis I find excuses to break out of my routine, this small act alone provides for a very little adventure but one that is crucial to keeping me engaged in my work.

The act of reaching out to someone within your organization, or an organization that you admire is another little adventure – one I highly recommend. For me an adventure is anything that takes you out of your comfort zone, challenges you enough to highten your awareness and quicken your pulse a bit. This physical change causes a mental change that sharpens our focus while opening our minds to previously unseen possibility.

“We should come home from adventures, and perils, and discoveries every day with new experience and character” – Henry David Thoreau

What do you do to create little adventures and how do they make you feel?