explore . expand . look . listen . no boundaries . inquisitive . self-determination . push . single-minded . enthuse . overcome . talk/ask . meet/greet . enthuse . will power
So what’s the secret to becoming an adventurer? The word ‘Adventurer’ is fast becoming the new buzz word. Every TV programme, every magazine article and every radio programme seems to be about ‘ordinary’ people transforming their lives and living a life of adventure.
The word literally means “to take a chance, to wander, to travel, to happen upon by chance” from the 12c Old French aventurer. From my own experience I think this is a pretty good description and I can certainly apply all those words to my trips over the last few years.
But I think it’s important not to get daunted by the all the hype and tales of heroic trips and deeds. In my case my adventure started 5 years ago when I chucked away my stick and started hobbling along the tow path into town every day. This graduated (eventually) to some jogging and walking and then to marathons and trips further afield. A few months ago I ran across Italy in 7 days and last summer I traversed 525 miles across the Spanish Pyrenees – perhaps more what people would equate to as an ‘adventure’. But the point is it all started with that first step out of the office door as I headed through an industrial estate towards a path along the river and into the unknown – at the time every bit as testing as inching along a narrow path in the Pyrenees.
So adventure is open to all of us – all it takes is that first step. And remember in the words of Helen Keller “Life is a great adventure or it is nothing.”