Have the biggest adventure of your life

I have always been fond of dreaming up quests and escapades.

The mundane does not interest me and I am pulled by the sweet temptation of adventure. So, 12 months ago I bought a one way ticket to Australia, and what followed has been the biggest adventure of my life.

To travel to the other side of the world in search of adventure is not a new concept. When Christopher Columbus embarked on his maiden voyage across the globe, he, like any intrepid explorer, was curious as to what lay over the water and was determined in his quest for new and unchartered lands.

We’re a curious bunch, us humans, and we often become complacent in our admiration of home soil. We grow restless to seek new and exotic landscapes to rekindle our connection with the earth, discover the beauty of the planet and forge our own maiden voyages. We recognise the shared sense of awe and appreciation in discovering unusual lands and their accompanying cultures.

We live on a huge, beautiful, wild, planet – to think we might only see a small fraction of it in our lifetime  seems unimaginable. 6 Continents, 7 billion people, 2 hemispheres, various time zones, tropical rainforests, arid deserts, snow capped mountains, ice-ridden landscapes, ancient tribes and modern mega cities, jungles, great expansive plains containing a great cacophony of life and vast expanses of ocean and coral reefs….

All contribute to this extraordinary ball of rock we call our home.

There is a great attraction in the unfamiliar, a mystery in the unusual; We are drawn to exotic locations, far from home and we are intrigued by the cultures and traditions of the natives which inhabit these foreign territories.

If our native environment is the cosmopolitan industrial city-scape then we may yearn for the soothing rhythm of the ocean, rolling green hills and mountains. If we are born into the heat of equator-bound climes, then perhaps we long for the crisp freshness of a European city in autumn.

Whatever it is we crave, and wherever it is we have a burning desire to venture to, it can be a life changing experience to bite the bullet, buy a ticket and go. To be immersed in the day to day life of a country or city totally alien to your own is enriching and eye opening; You leave behind the safety of the predictability and the comfort of routine and you are thrown into an abyss of the deliciously unaccustomed and unacquainted…

Shackles are broken, connections are formed, stereotypes are shattered and your mind is blown open. Often we find ourselves leaving behind old habits and beliefs as the physical distance we travel allows us to separate from that which no longer serves us. The age-old cliché of ‘finding oneself’ is finally realised as you acknowledge yourself in your wholeness, standing alone; Independent from the validation of the familiar.

Typically we are taught, through the media or through social norms, that as a planet we are disconnected and separate from one another, divided by religions, cultures and the colour of our skin. In truth we are united by the pulse of being alive and sharing a common bond; our planet. We all live together on this earth, physically divided by oceans and borders but spiritually connected by the simple fact that we are human and we are brothers and sisters, united in our collective existence.

I believe in the importance of inter-cultural exploration, to understand that despite the miles between us and the attempts to socially  or otherwise separate us, we all breathe the same air, we all appreciate the kindness of strangers and the power of a smile when language barriers silence us. To explore the nuances of a  foreign culture is to better appreciate the dynamic and beautiful elements that make up the mosaic of life which exists on our planet.

There is a whole world out there waiting to be discovered – A rich and diverse tapestry which weaves together the threads of ancient history, eclectic traditions and towns and cities steeped in culture. We owe it to ourselves and to future generations to dip our toes into faraway oceans, to taste and smell the aromas of freedom and adventure and to experience a way of life which is a far cry from our own, if only to walk in the shoes of those who we would otherwise only hear about in stories or read of in books.

 So, if you find yourself pulled by the curious call of travel or feel the burning desire within to venture to new lands, don’t hesitate, don’t delay.. pack your bag, open your mind and heart and go..

Embracing the Unconventional Life

“Be in love with your life, every detail of it.”

~ Jack Kerouac

I have always been a restless individual.

Ever since I was a small child, I would dart from one activity to the next, from book, to paints, to den building, to climbing frame and back to book, with a sense of urgency and energy, always looking for the next adventure.

I grew up with an endless thirst for creativity, picking up art projects, musical instruments, dance classes and ideas in a never-ending whirlwind to satisfy something, a hunger, a need to to fulfill a burning desire to create, to vent this mad passion for life in any way, shape or form that I could get my hands on.

A deep craving to experience absolutely everything this world has to offer, simultaneously, madly, wildly. An endless itinerary of needs, wants and desires, settling on each like a butterfly on a flower, flitting wings  ready to move with wild abandon to the next beautiful blossom that life had to offer

Twelve months ago, I left the comfortable confines of the UK to embark on the biggest journey of my life. I booked a one way ticket, packed my bags, and with an almost unbearable sense of excitement, jumped on the plane, with no plans, no agenda and no regrets.

My lifetime of darting, jumping, starting, finishing, stopping and dropping had led me to leave my old life behind and embark on a journey of self-discovery and adventure.

“Buy the ticket, take the ride…” ~ Hunter S. Thompson

I have always been happiest when I am outside of routine, escaped from structure, ignorant to the daily cycles of wake-work-sleep which so many feel trapped within.

I was now living more freely and as impulsively than ever before and it made my soul sing and my heart leap. Where was I going? What was I going to do? Who knows? Who cares? I am the master of my universe now!

The more I succumbed to the ebb and flow of life, the more I came to understand my purpose on this journey and embrace each new experience with a sense of awe and wonder at how synchronistic life could be when you opened your heart and soul to its magic.

Society has taught us to stay, to settle, to stop our hungry hearts from yearning for freedom. We are dragged through a repeated and recycled life of education-marriage-settle.

But what if you are filled with a burning and bursting longing for more? What if your heart screams at you to move, to create, to write, to paint, to sing, to travel, to live? My heart has been screaming all my life — I want more!

My restlessness is, and always has been, my soul’s way of expressing this. I did not know it back then as a child but I was always destined for the unusual and the unconventional, and it is only now that I am coming to fully embrace my restless ways, my flitting and my fleeing, my search for meaning, my search for more…

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~ Mark Twain

If you want to leave, leave. If you want to move across the world for love, do so. If you want to create, create! Screw society’s conventions and follow that bursting heart of yours.

I may not lead the most conventional of lives, I may not know what is round the corner — which can be scary, but I am trying to live my life as honestly and passionately as possible, even if that means sacrificing security. I am on my own weird and wonderful journey, and for me, the magic is in the mystery.

“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move…” ~ Robert Louis Stevenson