Finding A Little Adventure
I have had more than my share of exciting times and I'm grateful for every one of them.
There was the time the bear came into camp at 11:00 p.m. and we listened to him consume two weeks worth of food for two people and a dog in only six hours. At 5:00 a.m., when it became obvious he had run out of goodies, we paddled our canoe out on to a very dark lake. He was still there when we went back at 7:00 to try to recover some of our gear. Probably because he'd also managed to polish off a flask of Kahula. And the time I was paddling solo on a large Canadian lake. The wind came up so strongly it was impossible for me to get to shore. I just held my own for several hours. After dark I was briefly grateful to land on an island I thought would be my refuge only to find it had been recently consumed by fire and there was no place to even sit down, let alone set camp. I've spent countless hours walking my canoe through low water rapids, carefully calculating each step, taking minutes to move 10 feet forward. And I can still barely think about the time I flooded my Jeep in a beaver pond.
People are always saying to me "I wish I was that adventurous" when they listen to my stories. But I'd like to make a distinction. Don't go to the dictionary, this is my distinction and I'm being a bit contrary again.
To me, adventure requires only awe, inspiration and appreciation. Seeing a black bear and her cubs walk a cliff on the opposite side of a lake from where I'm camped is adventure. Having a bear in camp is an adrenaline-induced learning situation. Quietly watching a moose as he steps into a lake on an early foggy morning is adventure. Having that same moose block my passage while paddling a narrow creek is an adrenaline-induced learning situation.
I'll never stop going into the wilds and exposing myself to the risks that sometimes come. I have to admit that I'm a recovering adrenaline junkie and occasionally need a fix. But in my day-to-day life, adventure is merely an attitude to take action in order to inspire awe, appreciation and inspiration. It's a choice to not look at something the same old way but to approach it with curiosity. Adventure helps me write this newsletter, adrenaline just gives me good campfire stories.
The Top Ten Ways to Add a Little Adventure
10. Find a Creek and Follow It. Upstream, downstream, it doesn't matter.
About The Author
Deb Martin is a Transition Coach, coaching individuals to simplify life business transitions by seeing their brilliance and honing that brilliance. Subscribe to her free e-newsletter, PORTAGE, for insights designed to help you feel and act differently in order to attract what you want, naturally. Please visit her web site at: http://www.portagecoach.com/newsletter.html to subscribe.
MORE RESOURCES:
 Spartanburg Spark (blog) | Sacramento-area towns get creative to win Google network Sacramento Bee Across the country – and close to home – applicants are getting creative in their efforts to get Google's attention. In the Sierra foothill hamlet of Nevada ... Portland City Council backs Google fiber pitch |
Weaving Creative Careers into an MBA Mix BusinessWeek But can creativity—or at least a genuine comprehension of creative processes—really be taught to hard-headed business men and women in the classroom? ... |
Giving Project Challenges Participants’ Creativity Gazette Newspapers Organized and funded by the nonprofit Community Action Team, the third annual Long Beach Giving Project occurring this month is a ... |
Spain's lively capital of creativity Toronto Star More than 100 years after the opening of the Four Cats, Barcelona remains one of the liveliest capitals of creativity — an enticing destination for any ... |
A Few Reasons Why Dave Eggers Is a Great American AlterNet Dave Eggers is less well-known in progressive political circles, where creativity and Gen X sensibilities have never quite come to terms with traditional ... |
Library's Teen Zone room is a haven and an outlet for creativity Arizona Daily Star "The goal is to help kids show their creativity," library associate Becky Blount said. "We have done jewelry-making, art cards, origami and printing. ... |
Springtime brings on a poet's creativity anew West Linn Tidings In the enormous pervading purgatory that is the latter half of winter, where we find spring so imminent on our calendars, we still find that ... |
 msnbc.com | 2010 NCAA Basketball Predictions and NCAA Printable Bracket Gather.com No creativity seems to live about March Madness 2010. Everyone's picks are only slightly varying among Duke, Kansas, Syracuse and Kentucky. 2010 NCAA Tournament predictions: Kansas, Kentucky emerge as consensus favorites |
Jump Start Your Writing Skills—And Creativity San Francisco Chronicle Tap into your creative mind with Lynda McDaniel, director of the Association for Creative Business Writing, www.afcbw.com. • Uncover these hidden treasures ... |
Creativity Is A Tool Of Therapy And An Emblem Of Expression 24-7PressRelease.com (press release) MARCH 18, 2010 /from the Stanford Who's Who blog/ -- Creativity is an ability which is intertwined within the internal fabric of our being. ... |
3 Clever Creative Strategies!
I've got a confession to make..
Break An Egg For Creativity
In 1420, the dignitaries of Florence held a competition.They offered the enormous prize of 200 gold florins to the architect whose genius could span the unfinished dome of the Florence Cathedral.
How To Discover Hidden Talents Within You And Begin Appyling Them In Your Life Now
Have you decided it may be time to start creating some newexcitement in your life? If you are now retired, soon to be retired, or just now reaching those "golden years" do you feel your life has become a little dull? Uneventful? Maybe even a little discouraging?After all, when you reach this period in your life, yourroutine may have changed, your energy may have dwindled and even your drive may have simply slowed down a bit. So if you are not happy with this situation what do you do about it? Well here's something to think about that could just change the whole picture.
Sleep and Creativity
In my life, sleep is the number one way that I can either enhance my self-care and nourish myself or defeat my self-care and deplete my energy, peace of mind & productivity all in one shot.When I'm rested I'm more resilient to stress.
Innovation Through Concept-Combination
There are many creative problem solving techniques used by inventors to come up with new solutions to old problems. For sheer innovation, though, it's hard to beat the technique of concept-combination.
Courage and Creating
Doing anything creative often brings up fears, anxieties, insecurities. Courage may be defined as going ahead in spite of fear.
Improvisation in Life and the Arts: What I learned from Free Play by Stephen Nachmanovitch
Can you be an artist while you're washing the dishes?In this article I share some of my learning and impressions from a chapter of the exceptional book, "Free Play", by Stephen Nachmanovitch.This subtitle of this book, "The Power of Improvisation in Life and the Arts", speaks of bringing the improvising we do as creative artists into our daily routines and interactions.
Think Orange! Creativity and the Sacral Chakra
Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could just flick a switch and turn on your creativity? Sadly, at times, tapping into your creativity can feel like trying to squeeze water from a stone. The good news is, there are ways of encouraging creativity and one of these ways is through balancing your sacral chakra.
How To Get In The Zone And Blast Your Marketing To A Higher Level
This may come as a surprise..
Top Five Reasons to Cultivate Your Creativity
Cultivating your creativity is more than spending time with a hobby or performing and displaying your work. Cultivating your creativity takes time, awareness and deliberate action.
10 Ways To Boost Your Creativity
Creativity is your birthright - but can often be hidden in the everyday. To facilitate your personal development and self growth, here are some creativity tips you can use to resurrect, refresh and enhance your creative faculties.
Fear & Creativity
My fears are most powerful when they're simmering just under the surface of my awareness. I'm resistant to a new idea, I'm defensive about holding on to my old ways, I feel excited and panicked at the same time - these are sure-fire signs that there's some fear under there.
Top Ten Reasons To Start Creativity Coaching
DEVELOP YOUR ARTISTIC CONFIDENCE I'd really like to write but I don't have enough time. Creativity coaching can give you back control over your calendar.
Creativity, Innovation, and Science - Separate and Distinct or Not?
There is a pervasive belief that creativity and innovation are separate and distinct from the concept of science. That creativity and innovation cannot be scientific.
Ideas
While the inception of penicillin brought a bit of a stir, and the television warranted some focus, it is somewhat easier now to fashion an idea into something sustainable.Easier again is the ability to make an idea into a business without leaving the house.
Five Basic Steps to Benefit from Your Creativity
The ability to exercise your creativity is even more important for you than you probably think. Why? First, your creativity tremendously contributes to your self-actualization, which is essential for you to feel satisfied with your life and be happy.
Why Teach Thinking? Why Not ?
The word 'creativity' has so many diverse meanings and interpretations. I remember telling an audience of teachers that creating a mess is also creative as long as new things and views are being conjured up.
10 Tools for Dealing with Criticism and Rejection
Ouch! Whether it's feedback we've asked for, an unsolicited remark called out from the audience or a simple "no" result of an audition or submission process, criticism and rejection are a huge part of our lives as creative artists.Sometimes we're so fearful of being criticized or rejected that we keep our creativity bottled up and don't let it out.
Quiz -- Are You Creative?
Worried you may not be creative or you may not be creative enough? This quiz will help you find out just how creative you are.Take a piece of paper and number it from one to seven.
Its Time to Get Out of the Box
"It is never too late to be what you might have been. "(George Eliot)I have found that truly successful people surround themselves with the support that makes them excel.
