Tag: Example

See How Easily You Can Become an Explorer

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Have you ever really explored where you live? Do you know what treasures can be found tucked away in the back of the shops that line the streets? If you are asked for a restaurant recommendation are you familiar with the local eateries where the servers know everyone and the food really tastes home-made? Have you ever really explored the park or discovered the local art gallery?

It always amazes me how much you can find when you head out on foot, especially in areas that you normally drive through. The slower speed enables you to see things that you easily over-look when driving by, especially because when on foot you are not as distracted as when you are driving. Since you are exploring, you can take the opportunity to visit that shop you always thought “looks like a neat place to visit”.

It doesn’t matter if you live in a large city or a small town, there are surprises to be found everywhere. The small town that I come from has an art gallery on the court square, chock full of local art. You would never find it driving, though; I discovered it while walking.

Perhaps you would be more interested in a different type of local information. Every community has some surprising tidbits of history tucked away in its past. Not only is the history there, but so are the markers. I’m always surprised by the events that happened in the most random locations. (There was a B29 bomber that crashed in July of 1945 less than 10 miles from the house I grew up in.) You can search out these markers and learn more about a local past.

If searching out history is your thing, not only can you seek out monuments and markers, but you can seek out the very foundations of your town. The city where I am attending school has dry-stacked (no mortar) stone walls that are over a century old lining some of its roads. Some of the buildings match the walls in age. It’s always interesting to discover these pieces of history that are still in use today.

Don’t hesitate to take a longer look at places you think you know. You might have over-looked something in the past, or something might have changed since you last visited. It seems that every time I visit the local park there is something new (or new to me). Perhaps a different bush is in bloom, progress has been made on the new walking trail, or I get to see the sunset framed behind the trees.

You will work up a pretty good appetite while exploring. Continue seeking out new things as you prepare to dine. Try a new eatery; some of the best food I’ve had came from the most unlikely-looking places. If you’ve already been everywhere, visit a familiar place but sample a new dish. How can you say who has the best burgers in town until you’ve tried them all?

You might not be able to explore your whole community in a single afternoon, and that is probably not a bad thing. You can start every trip at a different place, view things from a different angle, and continue to discover new secrets about your home.

Are You Still Making Excuses?

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My wife and I are very excited about studying abroad in Ireland. As much as we are looking forward to it, though, it almost didn’t happen. The worst part? It would have all been our own fault. We kept finding excuses why this wasn’t the best time to take the trip.

  • It’s cheaper to go over during the summer, on our own
  • What if we can’t get all of the classes we need?
  • We’re having a hard time finding an apartment within our budget, what if we can’t find somewhere to live?
  • What if something happens and we run out of money?

Each of these have easy answers why they are not issues. This is not only the best time to go to Ireland, but we get to stay longer, so any extra cost is worth it. If we do miss a couple of classes, we can take them over the summer at the community college. We always have a hard time finding apartments online, we do much better in person; at the worst, we will have to raise our budget and cut back somewhere else. No matter what, we already have our return tickets, so we will not get stuck in Ireland.

We were accepted into the program, and then spent two weeks debating if we should go or not. The stress was building. Finally, I sat back and realized that we were just making excuses. Were we going to pass up living in Ireland for 6 months because of excuses? Excuses! Not on your life. Once we realized that there were no real reasons for us not to go, everything seemed to fall in place.

What adventures are you missing out on because of your excuses? Don’t do this to yourself!
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” – Mark Twain

Do you have an adventure you want to experience, but excuses are holding you back? Here’s a process that will help you out. All you need is paper and pencil. Following are six questions; write down the first thing that comes to mind for each question. Keep writing until the flow stops. I will provide an example for each question, identified by this color.

  1. What is the absolute worst thing that could happen if you do what you are considering?
    We would go to Ireland without having found a place to live, and not be able to find somewhere to live while we were there. So we would have to stay in a hotel and would burn through our money, leaving us broke and homeless in Ireland.
  2. What could you do to fix what went wrong?
    I imagine that the school would not let us stay homeless, so I am sure we could work something out. We could check Craigslist and find a place to stay in trade for work. We could find a job that pays under the table, doing handi-work or something. We could find housing through a local church. We could stealth camp around the town. Last but not least, we could borrow the necessary money from our families.
  3. If you go through with your idea, and it works out well, what are the possible positive outcomes?
    We will be able to spend five months in Ireland (my first trip out of the country). We will get to spend a week traveling around Europe, and spend a couple of days with my wife’s host family from when she studied abroad in Finland. I will be able to work on the website while I am traveling, and will have built up a decent readership by the time we return to the USA.
  4. Are you putting off what you want to do only because of fear?
    I’m afraid that I won’t get the classes that I need, that we’ll spend more money than we can afford, or that …. I think that is basically what it boils down to.
  5. What is it costing you to postpone action?
    We stressed ourselves out for two weeks, trying to determine if we could go. If we went during the summer, it might cost us less, financially, but we wouldn’t get to stay as long or do as many things. Also, since we are going during the school semester, we still have the summer to go on other adventures. If we don’t go now, we could continue finding excuses for years.
  6. What are you waiting for?
    We have looked at the worst that could happen, and the best that could happen. I know the worst that is possible, and the simple things that I can do to fix it. I think we just ran out of excuses…

Quit making excuses, get on with your adventure!

Sunset Painting Completed!

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finished paintingMy excursion back into painting was something that I have been looking forward to for some time. I purchased the materials over a year ago, but never made the time to use them. As I was writing the Planning Your Adventure series, I decided to use “paint a painting” as an example for a simple adventure to plan. This motivation pushed me to dig out the materials and actually paint! Even with this motivation I continued to put it off. I was in the process of moving out at the time and I put it off until I got to the point where I either had to sit down and paint or pack the materials away for another six months.

painting suppliesOne evening, when I was done packing for the day, I spread out my art supplies. The kitchen table was covered by tubes of paint, brushes, a canvas, and the inspirational photos that I had taken over the last couple of weeks.

supplies make do Of course, then it occurred to me that I had packed away all of my cups and plates. What was I going to use as a palette and to rinse my brushes in? Fortunately acrylic paint is non-toxic and washes off of smooth surfaces fairly easily, so I was able to use a tupperware lid. Looking around, I spotted the water bottles in the recycle bin and cut the bottom off of one to use. (After washing it out afterwards, it is still perfectly recyclable.) I was set!

The image that I wanted to paint had been in my head for over a year now, so it didn’t take me long to start painting. After getting the sun roughed in, it wasn’t quite right. After three tries, it still wasn’t quite what I had in mind. Apparently, though, it was what I was going to end up with. So I finished the sun and began painting the trees silhouetted in front of it. Hmm… this was working out quite well. I liked how they framed the sun, causing it to stand out even more. With renewed excitement I finished up the trees.

finished paintingAs with everything else, this painting did not go according to my plan. However, I very much like the finished result, as does everyone else who I have shown it to. I plan to frame this and hang it up in our new apartment once we return from Ireland.

A 5 Year Old Took Me on an Adventure

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My niece took me on a series of adventures this weekend. A simple camping pad from Wal-Mart became a roller-coaster ride and then transformed into the three pigs’ house. The big bad wolf came and “blew the house down” (over and over and over!) By spending a couple of hours following chasing her imagination we had some wonderful adventures.

Roller CoasterAs much of a stinker as she can sometimes be, my wife and I always look forward to spending time with our niece. Her delightful disposition and natural creativity, coupled with the simple playfulness that comes with her age makes our times together nearly continual playing and games.

Little Pig's HouseShe brought the camping pad out and asked me to roll her up in it. I did so, and then lifted the end of it, quickly unrolling her (roller coaster). She loves that! It works best if you keep their arms straight down to their sides. Eventually I got tired and we switched to building a house out of the pad. It is a simple matter to stand it up on end, wrap it around her as she sits down, and then cover her with a blanket. Then I get to play the part of the Big Bad Wolf who comes and Huffs, Puffs and Blows Her House DOWN!

Of course, the playing did not stop there. We migrated out to the garage, discovered a box large enough to play in and spent nearly an hour focused on the box. Later in the day we headed outside with the camera and took a number of photos. I am pretty sure that my niece is going to be a model, or a photographer. She absolutely loves being on either side of a camera, and is a natural. Pictures of her come out wonderfully, and she’s already better with a camera than I am.

It is very easy to come up with excuses to not play with my niece. “I’m too tired,” “I have a headache,” or “I have some work to finish.” No excuse is worth missing out on the irreplaceable time spent together. I don’t actually need a nap, rarely do I have more than a mild headache, and work can definitely wait.

Sometimes it is easier to avoid what you really want to do than to get started doing it. It takes a lot of energy for me to keep up with my niece, but it is always worth it. If you are blessed with time to spend with children, take full advantage of it. Time flies by, don’t let it slip through your fingers. Your adventures might be imaginary, and your guide might only be a couple feet tall, but the memories will last a lifetime.

Going to Ireland

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It has been just over a year now. Ashley and I chose what country we wanted to visit, headed into the Education Abroad office at the university and had our first communication with the adviser. Much paperwork, headache and stress later, we are about to head off on another adventure. The apartment has been packed up and put into storage, tickets and insurance have been purchased, our bags are… not quite packed yet.

This will be my first time out of the country, while Ashley has visited Canada and studied abroad in Finland.

The most common question we get is, “What will your husband/wife do while you’re gone?” Apparently it doesn’t occur to anyone that we can study abroad together. Of course, we wouldn’t have it any other way. We find that any adventure worth having is made better by sharing it with someone, and there is no one else we would rather share it with.

The second most common question is, “Why Ireland?” Well, why not? 😀 We actually chose Ireland for a number of different reasons. They have classes that we both need. It is in close proximity to Finland to go visit Ashley’s host family, as well as close enough to Europe to tour there during our spring break. It is not as popular as the rest of Europe, at least for study abroad students, so we had a better chance of getting to go together. They speak English there (even though we speak American, we will be able to communicate). And, seriously, why not?

Now we just sit and count down the days until we get to leave! That’s ok, though… free time to go geocaching!