The Adventure Within: Turning the Ordinary into the Extraordinary
Apr 24, 2025
"Life is an adventure, it's not a package tour."
(Eckhart Tolle)
When was the last time you set off on an adventure? I don’t mean hopping on a plane or flying to the moon - I mean the kind of journey that stirs something deep inside and makes you whisper to yourself, "Yes! Let’s do this thing!"
There’s something about Spring, with its soft showers and rising energy, that feels like an invitation. It’s no accident that Chaucer’s pilgrims began their journey in April. Spring stirs us. Sap rises. The lark ascends. I still remember my English teacher reading aloud the opening lines from The Canterbury Tales more than 30 years ago:
“Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote,
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the roote …”
I was hooked.
For as long as we enjoyed stories, that is to say, for as long as there have been humans on the planet, we hold within us a sense of adventure. We are all travellers, one way or another. It’s as though there is a seed within us that, with the right conditions, will germinate, take root and stretch across the ground while we reach for the sun.
When my children were small, I’d say, “Let’s go on a mini adventure!” And off we’d go - maybe just to take a trip on a tram, find a feather, or see if we could find a pink fruit in the supermarket. It didn’t really matter what the objective was, or how far we travelled. It was about the feeling of doing it. If I’d said, “We need some food. Let’s go to the supermarket,” I doubt they’d have come skipping. But call it an adventure and let the magic begin.
Not all journeys need passports. Sometimes the most powerful ones happen in our own neighbourhoods, or even our own living rooms.
Sometimes our journeys are outwards, long or short. Other times, the focus is internal.
What separates a commute from a pilgrimage? The direction of focus. A pilgrimage turns the focus inward. It’s reflective, something sacred. It asks not just “Where am I going?” but “Who am I becoming along the way?” rather than “Will I get a seat on the Metro this morning?”
And the truth is, you already have what you need to begin.
