Adventure fuels the fire in my soul. I thrive off of constant motion and new experiences and I have an uncontrollable urge to wander and to search for life’s ultimate secrets. Every new experience provides an opportunity to discover something new about myself or the mysterious inner workings of how the world works. I live for the search. I have at least a hundred dreams all scribbled down on scraps of paper contained in an old painted jam jar that I take with me where ever I go to remind me of all the things I want to get out of life. I also grab on to any opportunity to experience new things and new places with other searchers. There is always something to be learned from other people who feel that same fire in their soul. My own mind is only capable of formulating one perspective of thoughts and ideas, so having the right people to share an experience with can make it so much more enjoyable and can give it more depth.
I let the wind be my guide. I go whatever direction there is passion or curiosity, whether it’s alone or with others. I’m not committed to a single direction because when I’m not attached to where I want to end up, I’m not limited by my imagination and anything can, and always will, happen. I move quickly. I get what I need out of an experience and then continue the search, finding a new place to explore and new people to learn from and share experiences with.
As much as I thrive off of adventure, making progress in the search is about having experiences and then taking time to reflect on what was learned from those experiences. In the moment of all the action it’s hard to define what you’re learning. The mind is focused on other things. In most circumstances that knowledge is brewing but doesn’t become solid until after the experience has past. To get something more than superficial knowledge from the experience, there has to be some sort of processing time. Sometimes I get so caught up in the adventure side of life I forget to pause and take that time.
When they first occur, I dread the pauses. They’re usually unplanned and hit me like a brick in the face. They knock me to the ground and leave me with the anxiety of getting stuck and I feel unproductive. It takes time before I realize that this period of non-motion is the reflection time I need to gain the most out of life and the experiences I’ve had. It turns out that I learn the most during the pauses. Just because I’m not exploring the world doesn’t mean I’m not exploring something. For me, life is more than just having tons of experiences and sometimes I forget that because the adventures are so exciting. They fuel me, but when I don’t take time to reflect, I feel as though I’m wandering aimlessly and I’m not completely content with that. The experiences need to be significant and not just a check off the list. I need to live life and search for a deeper meaning. The pauses help me do that.
So for the wanderers, the dreamers, and the searchers, let passion and curiosity be your guide. Explore life, keep other searchers close, and juice the pauses. When movement isn’t an option, read, journal, reflect, research and start blowing those embers in all direction until the wind picks up and the fire starts again. The wind will eventually pick up and take you where you need to go. Although the pauses can be the hardest times to settle in to, they are so beneficial. Wandering is the way we discover the world, but getting lost in thought is how we discover ourselves. Both are needed to make progress in the search to understand life. Don’t ever give up the search.
