Photo taken by a family member; Wood Lake, British Columbia
“Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
Part of the adventure is exploring.
Now, a guy does this naturally.
Being one, I have found this to be innately true.
Everywhere I go or travel (whether it’s to a friend’s house, a forest in the great outdoors, or a new country for my first time), I feel this inner urge to cut loose and explore all that is around me.
I do this to become well-acquainted with my surroundings, as well as any new areas that are unbeknownst to me and are in deep need of discovery – all for the sake of my inquisitive mind.
The discovery is part of the process of exploring.
It’s what makes the exploration fun.
For me, I can liken this discovery process to finding a golf ball on a golf course.
This is one of my favourite things to do when golfing. It is such a cool feeling to find a golf ball (someone else’s, of course) during the course of a round.
There is just nothing like it to me, as there is just something about this new-found discovery that really enthrals me.
Work with me here, all you non-golfers. Don’t skip over this blog post quite yet.
I’ll be playing my way around the various selection of holes and suddenly, out of nowhere, I’ll look down and discover a white ball sitting there right before my eyes – either in the rough, in the water hazard I’m walking by, or along the tree line that defines the edges of a particular golf hole.
It’s as if all this time it had been waiting for my arrival.
So I pick it up and add it to my collection in my bag. I get so excited by the discovery of a new ball set before me, and it gives me great joy in my relentless pursuit around the course.
This is just one example for me that heightens the exploring process as part of the adventure when I’m golfing.
It’s a simple act, one that probably wouldn’t mean a lot to most people, but it really grabs my attention.
This need for exploring is something that is hard-wired into us as human beings.
It’s something we do automatically and unconsciously.
Just watch the next time you’re in a new environment and see if you do not also start “looking around” in an effort to take in all your surroundings.
Odds are you’ll find yourself venturing off to some remote area of the place you’re in, which you’ve told the people you’re with that this mini-excursion will “only take 5 minutes.”
Get the idea?
We’re all in search of exploring.
We can’t help it.
It’s part of the adventure of life.
It helps take the boredom out of life and replaces it with excitement, which is a good place to live in.
Dwight Van Middlesworth 