The Adventure
A friend sent a New Year’s greeting and wished me many adventures in 2020. But what constitutes an adventure? An exotic destination with snorkelling gear, or a helicopter trip into the backcountry?
Living in a human body is an adventure all by itself. That is, if we're awake enough to notice.
Every day, familiar and not so familiar sights, sounds, smells, tastes, sensations, and thoughts arrive at the sense doors. How we perceive and receive these appearances depends on us. We either place them in the category of "been there, done that" and dismiss their potential to teach us anything new, or we sharpen our perception and get interested in our lives, whatever is happening.
Here's my guide to having an adventure without going anywhere:
1) Awaken sense perception.
Spend a morning or a day in silence (alone or with others).
This might be a formal retreat, held at a retreat centre, or it could be a day you set aside at home. Set a clear intention to give yourself this gift, as a practice in knowing yourself. Life tumbles along, and we tumble with it. To be in silence is to enter into a different conversation, a dialogue with presence, with knowing in a very immediate way the passage of time.
Our lives are often filled with activities and things that need to be accomplished. Stepping out of the stream of doing, we uncover the adventure of being.
2) Learn a new skill, or return to an old one with new interest.
In Birds, Art, Life, the author Kyo Maclear embarks on a year-long adventure of learning about birds, particularly those who live in busy urban environments. What she discovers is as much about birds as it is about learning to see in a new way.
In 2019, I discovered the art of field journaling at a workshop given by poet and writer Maleea Acker. I fell in love with this way of recording my experience. This year, I want to learn more about drawing. I want to spend time haunting the galleries and museums where I live, bringing my sketchbook along and taking a few minutes to draw what I see. (Maleea's field journaling workshop, "Landscapes of the Heart" is inspired by the work of botanist Lynn Baldwin, who, in turn, was inspired by other journal-keepers.)
3) Explore the parks and walking trails in the part of the world where you live, and find out what is growing there. Or simply return to a favourite garden, park or trail and get to know it through the seasons.
4) Grow a garden, indoors or outdoors. Caring for plants, looking at the way they are growing, this is a slow adventure, but a very satisfying one.
5) Visit and spend time with an elder, hearing their stories and learning from them about the truth that we all grow old.
6) Spend time with a child, making art, playing, having a local adventure.
The goal of an adventure will be different for everyone. It might be to extend ourselves and try something new. It may be to explore a different part of the world and come back with a fresh perspective. It may also be a desire to shift out of old habits and try on new ones. All of these are possible without jumping on a plane or making elaborate plans to travel. The challenge is in being creative about how we venture into new territory. It could be as simple as joining a choir, becoming a member of a local museum or gallery, or volunteering to pull invasive weeds from a nearby park. David Whyte says it beautifully in his poem: "Everything is waiting for you."