Exploring ‘home’… that’s what I’m up to this weekend. It’s often the case that the treasures of one’s ‘hometown’ go unexplored, simply due to their being on the doorstep. These hometown ‘areas of interest’ get discounted in favour of those that are further afield; distance adding a hit of the exotic normally associated with exploration.
Photo by Efraimstochter, www.pixabay.com
This weekend, however, I’m embracing the home-grown treasures of the city in which I live. It turns out that I need to nurture the spirit of adventure that so permeated my younger years… partly in response to my young daughter’s constant demand for ‘adventure’ but also for my own sake.
We all need adventure. Those of us who were particularly blessed with childhood explorations that took place in the ‘exotic’ of the ‘other’ places, may still feel that occasional (or regular) need to break out, throw aside the routine that holds our life together, and step into adventure. Even those of us who now eschew such overthrows of peace may still find the need to integrate the new and the novel into an otherwise settled life… common ‘mini-adventures’ include the regular taking up of new projects or challenges, regular changing of furniture placement…
I am now geographically settled… but still hanker for the odd adventure… and I’m heading off for one this weekend. I’m off to re-discover the joys of living in a cathedral city, of local art galleries… Can a renewed exploration of home act as a ‘fix’ for my desire for adventure?
I hope so. I plan to practise adventure. Practise looking with new eyes, hearing with new ears. I plan to practise appreciation of the familiar beauty, as well as the exotic. I plan to see where I have hitherto neglected to look. I plan to be horribly, ecstatically excited by home. I might even manage to embarrass my daughter 😉
You planning any adventures this weekend? This month? This year? Or are you feeling ‘stuck’ in an adventureless home? If home represents more claustraphobia than adventure, Life Story work might be a strategy for a more adventure-filled life. Together we can explore your past story, and work towards a future more focused on joy and discovery… and adventure. Contact me at rachelcason@explorelifestory.com or at this page for more information.
Oh yes I’m always in for a new adventure. I like trying new things, like growing potatoes in my own backyard, taking walks in the forest, discovering a new museum, taking cooking lessons or starting a blog. One of the new adventures will be visiting the Families in Global Transition Conference and doing a session there!
I love gardening, though I’m a complete novice. It’s great for a sense of adventure because you are never quite sure how things will turn out!
I can relate! I guess especially as a TCK it’s easy to feel stuck where you are right now. Even though being settled has its advantages, too.
Maybe with time we have to learn that adventures don’t necessarily have to mean going out of the country, but maybe rediscovering the city you live in or exploring new things around. I do that not often enough in my own city and regret it later on…
Thanks for stopping by, Katha! And for your thoughts! Yes, hindsight is a wonderful thing, but the more we can practise reframing our understanding of an ‘adventurous, exciting’ life, we perhaps can be both our own adventure and our own home… and feel settled in our selves, wherever we are!