Close to Home, Far From Ordinary

Adventure is a State of Mind

The Definition of Adventure

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary provides a number of definitions for “adventure.”

Ad·​ven·​ture [uhd·ven·chr]

Noun

1. an undertaking usually involving danger and unknown risks
2. an exciting or remarkable experience
3. an enterprise involving financial risk

Let’s focus on just one of those definitions right now – “an exciting or remarkable experience.” I’ve previously written about how adventure is a state of mind. Heck, that’s the tagline for the blog! And I do believe whole-heartedly that attitude is everything when it comes to being adventurous, in your life as well as in your travels. But let’s talk a little bit about what that looks like when put into action.

Where Adventure is Found

If you ask any adult where they would like to go on an adventure, I would guess that the response would be someplace far from where they live. It might be the mountains of Colorado or the Grand Canyon or a tropical island in the Caribbean. It just as likely might be a city in an exotic location, such as Paris or Istanbul.

If you ask a child where they would like to go on an adventure, they could provide the same answers. I suspect, however, that many children would respond with a location closer to home, such as a local park or the woods or creek behind their house.

This difference in responses could be due, in part, to the world being larger for adults because they are more aware of how much is out there to explore. A more likely explanation, however, is that children have a sense of wonder and curiosity about the world, both near and far, that has faded or even vanished for us more jaded adults.

Home Never Seems Exotic

During my first trip to Europe, my friend, Heather, and I stayed with her friend, Alison, and her family in London. Alison spent several days with us visiting famous landmarks around the city, such as the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace. At one point, I apologized to Alison for what I assumed was her umteenth time visiting these sites. She surprised me when she told me that she was enjoying her time because she had not visited any of the locations since she was a young girl participating in school trips.

To her, London was just her home. Not a tourist destination.

I think the same can be said for most of us. No matter where you live, chances are you rarely think of making your backyard a destination for adventure. And even if you do live close to places full of history or natural wonders, humans are notorious for planning to visit places “someday.”

Many people have traveled extensively to other parts of the world, but believe there is nothing worth seeing close to home. Or, they put off exploring nearby… until someone comes to visit them.

Adventuring as a Way of Life

In his book Vagabonding, the travel writer, Rolf Potts (a fellow Kansan), describes how vagabonding (his term for what I refer to as adventuring) doesn’t start just when you leave on your travel adventure but is an ongoing practice of “looking and learning, of facing fears and altering habits, of cultivating a new fascination with people and places.”

Be curious and seek out new knowledge and perspectives.

Be open to new foods, new music, and new experiences.

Face personal fears and step outside your comfort zone to learn new things about yourself.

Throw away preconceived notions about others and observe and interact with them with an open mind.

None of these activities require you to get on a plane or change time zones. It’s sometimes easier to see things differently when you are in a new place or speaking in a foreign language, but there aren’t requirements to do so. All it takes is an attitude of curiosity and a willingness to be open to whatever the experience provides you.

Tiny Adventures

With the right attitude, adventures can be found even in your daily routine. You can be a traveler every day.

Try taking a new route to work.

If you go out to lunch with coworkers, suggest a new restaurant or order something you’ve never tried before. If you’re looking for the exotic, try a restaurant or food truck with a different cuisine than you’re used to. I definitely don’t live in an exotic location, but within a very short drive, there are numerous Mexican and Korean restaurants and even an Indian restaurant.

Your hobbies and leisure activities are also great opportunities to add the attitude of adventure to your life. Continuing with the food theme, if you like to cook, check out a cookbook from the library or search for recipes on the internet for foods from other cultures that you can make at home. In our travels, Greg and I have often been introduced to foods in other countries that we wanted to learn to make at home, but you don’t have to travel to another country to want to explore their delicious food.

If you’re a reader, why not seek out novels that are set in other countries? Likewise with music – streaming services make it easy to search for both traditional and contemporary music from other countries.

The world will never starve for want of wonders; but only for want of wonder.

G.K. Chesterton

Explore Your Backyard

Kansas has a reputation of being a “flyover state.” I’ll admit that when I was younger, I was surprised when someone told me they had traveled to Kansas for a vacation or had voluntarily chosen to move here.

As I’ve gotten older, and as I’ve lived in other states and have traveled to other countries, I’ve come to realize that Kansas also has her own beauty and an interesting history to offer. I now enjoy both exploring the state and sharing it with friends and family who come to visit.

My husband, Greg, and I enjoy “playing tourist” while taking guests to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Flint Hills Discovery Center, and Oz Museum.

We’ve made a point of trying out new hiking trails at times, as well as visiting important historical sites such as the Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park in Topeka.

Unfortunately, we’re also guilty of procrastination and have put off visiting local places such as the Wolf House Museum, or revisiting places I haven’t been to since I was a child, such as the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park.

Practice

Most of us can’t, or don’t even want to, travel every day of the year, but that doesn’t mean we can’t fill every day with adventure. Travel adventures are exciting and add so much joy to life because they tend to feed our curiosity and make us more mindful of everything around us. Travel wakes us up and makes us feel alive! It’s living today instead of someday.

We can create that same sense of being alive and open to the world, even if we aren’t adventuring any further than our backyard. It’s all about attitude. After all, adventure is a state of mind!

Learn About Yourself

Exploring close to home not only brings more adventure and vitality to your days when you are not on a foreign travel adventure, but it also can help you get to know yourself better. If in exploring your town you come to realize that you enjoy walking around neighborhoods more than hiking in the woods, make a point of planning city walks into your next travel adventure.

Even though you’ve always been a fan of rock and roll, perhaps a friend invites you to listen to an Irish band visiting the area, and you accept the invitation. If you immediately fall in love with traditional Irish music, you may be inspired to plan your next travel adventure to Ireland.

Living life to its fullest while you are home not only fills your days with value but also gives you opportunities to grow. As you explore the world locally, turn some of your curiosity on yourself. Experiment with trying new things, or with doing familiar things in a new way. You can take what you learn about yourself with you as you hit the road to new lands.

What adventure awaits you close to home? What can you get curious about? What have you been putting off for someday that you could do today? What’s in your backyard that you can share with visiting friends?