A Sense of Adventure

As I write this morning, 40f degree air is being driven by 30+mph east winds against the side of the bus-house... rockin' and rollin' us around a bit this morning. At the moment, there's no rain, but that's supposed to change later today and for much of the weekend. We're certainly getting a taste of the unusually wet and late Spring of 2011. And you know what?... I'm really OK with it all.

We started our Sabbatical project almost four years ago because we were tired (maybe "bored" is a better word) with the comfortable life we had in the suburbs west of Chicago. We wanted to feel life. We wanted adventure. We wanted to explore all corners of this grand country and experience the good and the bad, the ups and downs... the reality of life that somewhere, everywhere, people are living and thriving in... to be engaged in the process of life while we still had some life of our own to live.

We're not unique in this regard. Many fulltimers are seeking the same thing... at least we say we are. But what do most of us do after we get started? We run, as fast as possible, from any threat of discomfort or extreme. We head as far south in the Winter as possible to escape the cold... and do the reverse in Summer to avoid extreme heat. We drive as fast as possible through the middle part of the country in Spring... running scared... just knowing there's a tornado chasing us from behind. We whine and complain in our blogs any time the weather's isn't our sense of perfect. Well, I'm here to submit that maybe, just perhaps, we're in need of an attitude adjustment.

I've been as guilty as anyone. But lately, as we approach our 4 year fulltiming anniversary, I've been pondering the subject... reviewing our original goals and reasons for living this way... thinking about what we found... wondering where we're going. And I question if we're not getting just a wee bit stale... have fallen into a routine... getting, dare I say it, just a tad bored?

To keep that ember of adventure glowing, to push boredom back into the dark corner where it resides, I'm thinking we may need to "push the envelope" a little more as we travel... to be a little more fearless... to not miss opportunities that expand our experience because we're fearful of a little discomfort or extremes in weather. This Spring, for family reasons, we moved north a month sooner than usual... and, if you've read this far, you know what we're experiencing weather-wise. But, with a little mental adjustment, it's really not been that bad. Having experienced this cold wet April in Wisconsin I think we'll savor the warm sunny days, when they arrive, far more than otherwise.

Maybe next Winter we'll not stay as far south. Maybe we'll stay in the high-country a little longer in the Fall and not be pushed by the threat of early winter storms. Maybe we'll use a little discomfort to our advantage and add to the adventure that this little Sabbatical project is supposed to be all about.