Adventure is a necessary ingredient for a life well lived. Adventure doesn’t require that we see new things, but rather that we see the same things from new angles or different perspectives. It doesn’t require that we visit far away places, but rather that we visit near places with renewed enthusiasm. It doesn’t require that we have new experiences, but rather that we have common experiences with new appreciation.
Inspired by Keri Smith’s How to be An Explorer of the World, here are some of my best and favorite tips:
- Look where you are walking.
- Smile at flowers.
- Touch.
- People watch.
- Visit familiar places like it’s your first time.
- Smell.
- Pay attention to the stories that are unfolding around you.
- Take a different path.
- Order something off the menu that you don’t usually get.
- Overcome your blindness. Everything is fascinating – take a closer look.
- Listen.
- Turn right instead of left. Or left instead of right.
- Take time to see what’s going on around you. Sit on a park bench.
- Taste.
- Turn the TV off.
- Spend five minutes looking at something “ordinary” like a spoon or blade of grass.
- Pet dogs.
- See.
- Compare and contrast. Notice the interconnectedness. Observe patterns.
- ?
I couldn’t think of a number 20. Maybe you can? Leave your suggestions in the comments!
P.S. I’ll be LIVE and UNCUT on ustream.tv tonight at 7:30 EDT (Toronto/NYC time-zone). Join me 
June 23, 2009 at 2:33 pm
20. Challenge your stereotypes. Talk to someone you wouldn’t normally speak to. There are so many fascinating stories out there. That hairy leather guy or tough looking d**e-on-a-bike at the Pride Parade is probably a really sweet person if you take the time to talk with them and listen to their story.
June 23, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Say “hi” to someone you see at the coffee shop on a regular basis, but never spoke to before.
June 24, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Hi to you Robert. Treating this site as a virtual coffee shopand having read your blog, I wanted to say hi to you and all the best! Nick
June 23, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Take the subway one stop further than where you’re heading to, and walk back to your destination: notice all the things that are “just beyond” your usual route.
June 23, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Wow fantastic suggestion!
June 23, 2009 at 3:01 pm
My number 20 is combined with number 2, “Stare into your bathroom mirror” (w/out blinking)
I like watching everything change around me
June 23, 2009 at 3:03 pm
My number 20:
“Stare into your bathroom mirror” (w/out blinking)
I like watching everything change around me
p.s. I made a mistake before! :/
June 23, 2009 at 3:14 pm
listen to music. And the let the music fill you. Doesn’t matter what genre(unless it’s screamo or emo) try to feel the emotions that the artist put into the son.g Alot of people just listen to music without really thinking about it’s lyrics.
June 23, 2009 at 4:25 pm
enjoy what you are doing
June 23, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I have a habit of touching things. There are so many different textures out there.I love listeing to aspens/birch trees it’s just such a wonderful sound.And when you look at them as their leaves are being lifted by the air they look like green butterflies.
June 23, 2009 at 5:09 pm
time for a quote
We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do, and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.
I think the same argument can be applied above.
xoxo
June 23, 2009 at 6:11 pm
20. – Make love!
June 24, 2009 at 7:02 am
seems we need more love today-now more than ever.something many have lacked in the past.young people seem to get this point.ever since September-11th-Hugging-a friend-a stranger-opposite sex-same sex-seems to be the norm today-a hug-fist pump-an acknowledgement that you are important seems to be exactly what is needed today-what with the economic times we live in-and the world in general.
June 23, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Observe the world of insects.
June 23, 2009 at 8:29 pm
20. Do something outside your comfort zone. ie. go to the clothing optional beach and take it all off
June 23, 2009 at 8:33 pm
20. turn the power off and spend an evening in silence and candle light
June 24, 2009 at 2:11 am
I second that.
June 23, 2009 at 10:06 pm
dream
June 23, 2009 at 10:26 pm
Snuggle with your doggie.
June 24, 2009 at 12:30 am
always ask questions
Ciao!
June 24, 2009 at 2:12 am
Live every moment as though it were your last.
June 24, 2009 at 2:43 am
I had read #20 as “Question,” at first,
so I’m sticking with just that
June 24, 2009 at 6:12 am
This is something i do myself;
Bring your camera with you as much as you can and used it to capture those moment experienced in the above 19, so you will be able to relive your earlier adventures every time you look at the pics
June 24, 2009 at 6:25 am
Drop by, visit or call a family member that you haven’t had contact with for awhile, perhaps a grandparent, a aunt or uncle, a distant cousin . . .
June 24, 2009 at 6:41 pm
Great one. Let’s all do this one.
June 24, 2009 at 6:29 am
20. The flowers grow on the byways not on the highways.
Enjoy life and slow down and enjoy the journey just as much as the destination!
Love you Davey! joey
June 24, 2009 at 6:32 am
Davey Wavey…Those are OLD tips for Tuesday which I have done…NOW I need Wednesdays!..Love “your” David
June 24, 2009 at 8:04 am
Trun gay if you are straight.
June 24, 2009 at 8:35 am
20. Take public transportation instead of driving.
June 24, 2009 at 9:01 am
Visit a nursing home.
June 24, 2009 at 9:12 am
20. Try a new recipe that’s slightly challenging using a technique you haven’t used before…example, a Black Forest cake, or Hai Nan chicken.
June 24, 2009 at 9:13 am
Joyeux St-Jean!
June 24, 2009 at 10:31 am
Take time just to be; don’t do anything, just be!
June 24, 2009 at 11:56 am
Without judgment, look at each person you see during the day and image what the world looks like thru their eyes, as if you suddenly became that person and had to live their life.
Peace and Love,
Todd in VA
June 24, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Correction of a typo in my comment:
Without judgment, look at each person you see during the day and imagine what the world looks like thru their eyes, as if you suddenly became that person and had to live their life.
Todd in VA
June 24, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Hey, don’t forget to pet a cat or scratch it’s back and belly, I have a 4 year old bullseye tabby and her name is Rosie and she loves the attention!!
June 24, 2009 at 3:06 pm
20. slow down and embrace every detail of your surroundings
June 24, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Read good books by reputable authors. For example the one I just found at Shambhala Publishers called….’Chi’..Discovering Your Life Energy by Master Waysun Liao.
June 24, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Reconnect with someone you’ve lost contact with.
June 24, 2009 at 8:48 pm
Iam exploring another culture this year… Iam going to bunch or Furry Cons and exploring other peoples cultures and way of life… 3 of my friends whom are Furry’s got me into doing this.
June 24, 2009 at 10:56 pm
visit a cemetery and reflect
June 24, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Why a Cemetery ? Just wondering…
June 25, 2009 at 12:01 am
To reflect. To visit the ones you miss and think of good times with them.To think of how they would want you to be living.To remember how you may have been happier at the time they were living and to reflect how to become that way again.To help remind you to live before you are dead.
June 24, 2009 at 11:07 pm
I have a few ideas for number 20:
- do an anonymous good deed
- imagine how you would describe and interpret your surroundings if you could only observe them with one of your senses
- donate your time
- go in the side door instead of the front
- try to capture all the beauty of a person or object in a photograph
Cheers!
June 24, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Ha well i guess i need to work on being more open minded Marine Core will do that to ya..
Well anyways iam going to be donating my time to a charity when i go to these convention.. and putting smiles on little kids faces.. i guess iam doing ok..
June 25, 2009 at 5:36 am
20 – Turn off the TV. Close your eyes and listen. You’d be surprised what you hear.
June 27, 2009 at 8:01 am
Dance therapy!!!
June 27, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Damn, I was going to say challenge someone to a dance off, but that’s kind of like dance therapy.
How about, give someone you know some lighthearted sassy backtalk. Their reactions are usually really fun, especially if you don’t usually sass them. I do it all the time, but it’s usually expected lol.
September 7, 2009 at 12:22 am
say hi hows it going to 3 strangers every single day.