After being lost for periods of time, we sometimes find our way. Or maybe I should say we find “a” way. A path, a route, that at least begins to lead somewhere other than the stuck place in which we find ourselves. It might not be the end of the story or the journey, but it relieves a pressure that had been building around inaction.
When a new adventure comes along to dislodge us from the mud, we can get excited, as though we’ve been freed for life. All our questions seem answered and all our problems seem to fade into the past. It can feel like a high. But we must be careful here. I’m not trying to be a negative party pooper, but I want to present an honest pitfall. When we see our new path or adventure as final, we will inevitably crash hard when it is no longer new and has its own issues. Then we will either become depressed or tenaciously search for the next new adventure, change, fix, etc.
Do I think new adventures should energize us, excite us, and allow us to see some areas of life with fresh eyes? Yes, I do. It is only natural and understandable and is an aspect to the journey of our lives. Their are losses and gains; let downs and successes; endings and beginnings. Embracing the reality of these continuums allows us to fully enter them honestly, instead of seeing them as false gods that evaporate in the weeks to come.
Finding a way to stay grounded as your new adventure awaits is key. Instead of only thinking about the problems it solves, try and also fully immerse yourself in the actual adventure. Don’t just evision the path and never really go down it, but get busy on it. Stay focused on the tasks at hand and really take them on. Allow the new adventure to be a learning experience about your self, life in general, and whatever it is you are doing.
I think when we understand life adventures to never be final, it opens our eyes to all the adventures within adventures. When our eyes are fixed on finding the final adventure to end all travels we miss all the smaller paths that build a much fuller map and experience of life. Feeling energized and revitalized by change and adventure is a wonderful thing – let’s not kill those experiences off by asking too much of them.