01 Live Each Day Like An Adventure
For the past few months, I have been staring at the Fletchifesto that is hanging on my wall. As I read through each of the statements I colorfully designed on that poster, I thought it would be a fun challenge to explain what qualified them for inclusion on my personal manifesto. If anything it will be a consistent exercise to help me revitalize my love of writing and theMangoTimes.
1. LIVE EACH DAY LIKE AN ADVENTURE.
Here's the deal: Whenever I hear the word adventure I immediately think about my Hollywood hero, Indiana Jones. He is the epitome of living an adventurous life. Indy was a man who knew how to prepare to live each day of his life like an adventure. He woke up and put on rugged clothing. He carried a gun (and a whip). And, every time Indy climbed on an airplane or an ocean liner or a jeep, he knew a bad ass adventure awaited him around every corner.
Maybe it's the optimist in me that thinks a slightly overweight balding dentist in the middle of his life can actually live the romantic life of adventure. I acknowledge that I do not travel deep into the jungles or over the deserts of our planet, but I'd like to think that I would.
Maybe it's the fact that during every trip to Disneyland I begin my day in Adventureland. That's hardly heart stopping, but Walt did a great job of creating in me a love for adventure and taming the unknown. I know it is fake and solely based on commercialism, but there is something to be said here. I wasn't drawn to Frontierland, the Bayou, Rivers of America, Mainstreet, Fantasyland or even Tomorrowland. Hell no. I bee-lined to Adventureland. If there were more rides, I'd probably stay there all day.
Or maybe it's the fact that I'm also drawn to the pirate spirit of life upon the sea and the adventure of sailing on the wide open ocean looking for that one particular harbor. Do I sail? No. But again, I'd like to think that I would if I could. I love warm water and the clear blue water of the tropics. I love the idea of pursuing treasure. In the world of pirates, adventure looms everywhere: "Pirates be lurking and waiting to board and dead men tell no tales."
Alright. That is enough with the Disneyland references. I just love the spirit of adventure. I want my kids to love adventure. I want them to find adventure in the exotic as well as the mundane. I make an adventure out of a trip to the hardware store or a visit to their relatives house or just a drive out of the city to our local rivers and hills.
"Living each day like an adventure" changes your outlook. You enter each day in an anticipatory state of mind. Regardless of what you have planned, the day you are living can now be adventurous.
Too many people go through life bored as hell. They do the same old job and hoofing it through life following the same old routines. That's a real crappy way to live your life. So, join with me. Change your costume. Wake up tomorrow and put on your adventure clothes. Go on a walk in your neighborhood. Explore the common places. Buy a notebook. Pull up your anchors and live the life of a pirate. Live a life of adventure every single day. Then, report back and let me know where your adventures lead you.
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
