Adventure!

            Adventure!  What exactly is it, and how do you know if you are having one? I used to think the obvious:  the no armed no legged guy that climbed Mount Everest on a skate board, the woman who single handedly saves 17 children with a toothpick… you get the idea. Then I would think about the people around me, real ones this time, who go rock climbing, kayaking, and surfing, people who go on missions trips and run soup kitchens.  Now THOSE people are living an adventure! But what about me?

         About two weeks ago, I started to look around and seeing lots of people living lots of “adventure”, and I started to wonder if I was missing out; if life was passing me by. I mean,  my kayak is about to dry rot from lack of use, I gave my bike away,  and I hate to admit it,  living in the backyard of Acadia National Park,  but I really am not into hiking. Soup kitchen?  I can barely get Emma’s special foods cooked! So, couple that with my grey hair sprouting like weeds, and some serious cellulite on my legs, and I began to wonder if I HAD any adventure in my life.

       But here is the thing:  Adventure comes in lots of different forms, and actually, nothing is an adventure until each of us personally makes our experiences into an adventure. For the third grader I once taught who had no running water in his house, a trip to the bathroom at school WAS an adventure. Kayaking down rapids for the outdoor guide that does it everyday may not be all that exciting. Recovering a child from autism and other health issues might bored you to tears.

         But to me, it’s the grand adventure of a lifetime. It’s a wild ride, where I learn to let go… and take control, I look inside myself and become all I can be. I learn about how to live in the healthiest way possible. I learn what a true friend is, and what I want my relationships to look like.  I learn what’s really important to me. I learn to love more deeply and completely than I ever knew was possible, no strings attached. I learn all these things, in greater depth each time, over and over and over again. AMAZING, and  the adventure of a life time!

          So, I invite you to join me with prayers, good wishes, and even a donation or two, as I set off for another chapter in this adventure I am living.  Next week I will travel back to The Autism Treatment Center of America for  New Frontiers, the third and final class in the three class series that trains parents in the skills they needs to set up and sustain a Son-rise program for their child. I will be meeting up with other parents and professionals using this profoundly powerful program to transform children with Autism and other special needs. I’ll be sure to let you know how this chapter goes, and what amazing   things I have learned.

           So, enjoy your rock climbing, snowmobiling, kayaking, etc. Those are all amazing adventures, and someday I may partake.  But today, I am living my adventure of a lifetime. And, why?  Because I make it an adventure. And when I choose that,  I create happiness in my heart,  which in turn creates a power and energy unhappiness does not, and allows me to choose to love my life, my adventure, my world.

Do you love your adventure, whatever it may be?