Destination: Adventure

Posted on | September 6, 2010 | No Comments

On September 6, 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue. No, really, he did – this was the day, all those years ago, that he left the last port in the Canary Islands before crossing the Atlantic. 30 years later, on September 6, 1522, the Victoria, the only surviving ship in Magellan’s expedition, returned to Spain as the first ship to circumnavigate the globe. And, a little less than hundred years after that, on September 6th, 1620, the Pilgrims left Plymouth, England for the new world, where they would eventually settle in the newly founded Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Three groups of intrepid travelers, setting off for destinations unknown, testing the boundaries of their limits and risking all they had ever known for the possibility of something greater. They were, in the truest sense of the word, adventurers.

We don’t go off on adventures nearly enough as we should. Maybe it’s because Columbus, Magellan and the Pilgrims set out to discover what we already know. Maybe it’s because there’s so little left on Earth that we aren’t aware of. Or maybe it’s because the times have changed and we lack that adventurous spirit.

Columbus, Magellan, the Pilgrims – they were compelled by a greater need to leave their familiar lives and seek out something new. But we tend to like our familiar lives and rarely take the chance to risk what is comfortable for what might be uncomfortable, but ultimately rewarding.

When we’re babies and children, everything is an adventure. Every new thing we discover as we explore the world around us becomes part of the adventure of growing up. Children are wonderful stewards of the “adventurer” label because they are always excited to learn something new. As adults, we get complacent and lazy. We acquire material belongings and judge our happiness based on what we have, instead of what we know and learn. We stop being adventurous, because it’s too risky when there’s  mortgage to pay and gadgets to buy and television shows to DVR.

I think we should change that. I think we all need more adventure in our lives. The list of places I want to visit seems to grow longer every day. There are times when I dream about just picking up and flying away somewhere, no worries or cares, to visit places like Israel, Jordan, New Zealand, India, Morocco or China. I used to adore the TV show SeaQuest because I fantasized about living under the water. Part of the rationale behind my 15 Before 30 list was a desire to reclaim that adventurous spirit and boldly go where I had never gone before.

Inevitably, logic and practicality kicks in. I’m reminded of the need for money and unlimited vacation time (or self-employment) in order to make these crazy adventures come true. And yet… the truest adventurers didn’t let the details hold them back. People were convinced Columbus was going to fall off the face of the Earth, until he proved that he was right – the Earth was indeed round. And he didn’t even have a decent GPS. So if he can do it, why can’t I?

Your turn – where would your adventures take you? How to do keep that adventurous spirit alive in your everyday life? What would you do if you could just pick up and take off?

[Photo Credit: Getty Images]

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