Carolyn Ellis asked:
Flying halfway around the world to someplace I’d never been before was quite an adventure. A different culture, a different alphabet, foreign cuisine, unknown sights and sounds awaited me. Having an adventure is so fun, I thought. Why don’t we bring more of that explorer spirit of curiosity with us in our daily life? What would our life be like if we treated all of it as one big adventure, and not just leave that sense of wonder and excitement to the few weeks of the year when we may travel to some new destination? When set off for a travel adventure of some kind, it strikes me that there are some basic strategies that we naturally adopt. We don’t always use these strategies in how we approach our daily life, however.
Set a course and get prepared first: you need to decide where you want to go. Planning a trip or adventure requires you to consciously choose your destination. Once you’ve decided where you want to go, you get prepared. You figure out how to get there, what kind of currency and immunizations you’ll need, what kind of clothing you need to bring.
Create an itinerary once the destination has been selected: most of us will come up with at least a rough game plan or itinerary. What do you want to see and experience? How long will you want to stay there? Even if it’s a rough idea, an itinerary provides the starting point and a rough structure for the adventure.
Pack along our curiosity: an important ingredient of any adventure is a strong sense of curiosity. As you set off for parts unknown, you become an explorer, setting off to find out something new and wondrous. You don’t know what that experience will be like and permit yourself to relish that state of “not knowing.”
It’s not personal when you travel, you just know that unexpected things are bound to happen. The hotel you booked is a dive. The only day you have to visit that world-famous museum is the one day of the year it’s closed. Unexpected glitches are inevitable but you don’t take them personally. You surrender to the unexpected and simply give yourself leeway to make on-the-spot changes in your plans. You go with the flow. It’s easy to simply chalk it up to experience and know that you’ve got another good adventure story yarn to share with your friends back home.
The contrast in our daily life: Yet how we handle our day-to-day lives is often quite different. Many of us don’t have a clear plan or itinerary for where we want to go. True enough, at some points we set goals for ourselves like “get married,” “lose 15 pounds,” “get a promotion.” Yet somehow we lose our thread, not giving our plans the kind of persistent and consistent action needed to realize the results we want. In terms of preparation, we leave ourselves ill-informed or under-resourced to tackle the plans we do have. The driving force in life may be inertia, rather than inspiration.
And what happened to that sense of curiosity? Instead of feeling like an explorer, we at times start to feel jaded or “worn down by life.” Instead of surrendering to what happens, we tend to cling to what we know from our past experience, fearful of what the future might bring. We take things that happen to us very personally — the fact that your child is starting to flunk science must mean that you’re a bad parent; the fact that you and your spouse had yet another fight about your mother-in- law must mean your marriage is on the rocks.
An invitation to adventure: It’s a season of rejuvenation and renewal, so why not make the choice to live with that sense of curiosity and discovery? A standoff with your rebellious teenager could be seen as a new village you haven’t seen before. A failed relationship becomes an opportunity to explore a new part of the jungle you didn’t see on the map you’d been using. As spring has now sprung, I invite all of you to bring some of that adventurous spirit of discovery into your daily life.
Become the explorer of your life: Ready to bring a new sense of adventure into your life? Try out these activities to connect with your fearless explorer!
1. Remember a time when you had a real “adventure” – it could be a vacation somewhere, or an unexpected experience you had. How did it make you feel? Take 5-10 minutes to reflect on that experience and write a very evocative description of it. What were the three strongest feelings you had during and after that adventure?
2. If you want to live with that explorer’s sense of curiosity, create a motto or a mantra for yourself to capture that commitment or find an image that conveys that sense of adventure to you. Your motto could be “I love the adventure of my life” or “I’m a fearless explorer that can tackle any challenge.” Or perhaps there’s a picture of a world-class sailor cresting a massive wave that inspires you. Post your motto or image up so you’ll see it often to remind you that you’re living your life as an adventure!
3. Check your life itinerary – do you have one? Have you got a clear picture of where you want to go with your life? Take some quiet time to yourself to review the major areas of your life – personal health; family; career; relationship; finances; spiritual; community; creative expression. Set one exciting goal for yourself for each area and a deadline for achieving it.
4. Identify what resources you already have to help you with that goal, such as your educational background, your life experience, people you know that could help you. Then identify what resources you might need to find. For example, do you need to find a course, read a book, find a support group or coach? This week, take one concrete step towards achieving your goal in at least two major areas of your life.
Johnny Cyreous asked:
My oldest son and I watched a movie from his great collection “Robin Hood Prince of Thieves.” There is a great quote in the movie which I was eager to use this week where Kevin Costner playing Robin Hood says, “Nobility is not a birth-right; it is defined by one’s actions.”
The term “Nobility” refers to people who were “known” or “notable” and the word was applied to the highest social classes in medieval times. One had to be born into families of the upper classes to be considered a noble. Because those of nobility were also wealthy, they could afford the best of everything the world had to offer including education. Those who were noble were expected to act noble. But as is the case with all societies throughout history, those of noble birth seldom acted nobly.
In the classic movie Robin Hood, a once young prince of such a noble class found himself imprisoned by the enemy in Jerusalem for fighting on England’s side in the holy wars. After escaping he returned home only to find his property and family destroyed by the greedy sheriff of Nottingham who has misused his appointment to gain riches in the King’s absence. Robin of Locksley soon gathers a group of peasant farmers willing to fight and Robin along with his companions begins a campaign of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor and winds up confronting the larger than life philosophical issue concerning the meaning of nobility.
The movie makes for great entertainment as my son would surely know as he has only the best of best movies in his collection. The quote in the movie which concerns itself with people’s actions, is the epitome of the movie in my humble opinion. The way we act towards one another should be of vital interest for us all. The term nobility has many definitions. In Robin Hood, Costner’s character shows us what nobility really is as he portrays the actions of a true noble throughout the movie. I believe this is why the story of Robin Hood has such universal appeal. We have, all of us, born within us a secret yearning for excellence of being. That is what nobility should be; a principle, a way of acting that sets high standards.
Nobility is not a class of people; it is people with class. It is action of a higher order. It is embodied in what the Greeks called “Arete”. It is the notion of personal excellence. It is the act of living up to one’s full potential. Nobility is what the great Greeks philosophers interpreted as virtue. From Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, II vi 15, “virtue (or nobility) is a settled disposition of the mind determining the choice of actions and emotions, consisting essentially in the observance of the mean relative to us, this being determined by principle, that is, as the prudent man would determine it.”
Don’t let the lush language used here confuse you as to the simple meaning of nobility. Nobility means living the best you can in what ever circumstance you find yourself. In Robin Hood, Costner’s character exhibited behavior of an excellent nature. He was kind, yet he was not afraid to fight for what is right. He was not condescending towards others but was considerate. He was chivalrous and meek, yet he was bold and self asserting. He was a man’s man. He was a woman’s man.
What we should derive from the story of Robin Hood is that humankind should strive to be excellent in all that we do. If sales is your occupation, are you ethical in what we do for customers? If you are a physician, do you treat your patients in the best possible way exhibiting excellence in your bed-side manner? If you are a teacher, do you strive to teach so that students will understand you easily? If you are a judge, do you put prejudice aside when you are judging a case in court? If you are a psychologist or therapist, do you practice confidentiality and do you seek the patient’s best interest at all times? As a parent, are you patient with your children and do you treat your children with respect? As a spouse, are you honorable in the way you treat your spouse? All these questions can be summarized using one; do you seek excellence in all that you do?
It is a mind set. It is not one action. It affects all your actions. It is a way of being. If you seek this way of living, you will see many doors of opportunity open for you. You will have the power of the universe on your side. You will be tested though because we live in a world that is for the most part exactly opposite of excellence or nobility. Nobility is a journey you will never regret. You will be empowered when you begin to live the life of nobility; and you put yourself in the best place to acquire wealth and success if you strive to live a life of excellence. It is my goal and desire and I hope it is yours too.
