19. Adventure at its finest
Today is 21 days from the first anniversary of Dad’s passing. I’ve committed to writing 40 stories about him as that day approaches. Forty Steady Stories.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that 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
Adventure. Dad loved it. He loved exploring places and learning something new. At the same time, he was not someone who took a lot of risks. He was extremely conservative when it came to risk — whether professional or personal.
He would often quote this old proverb to me when I was thinking about doing something that involved some measure of risk:
“A wise man looks well into the matter.”1
He taught my brothers and me — whose propensity is to throw of the bowlines and just set sail — to also take care of the ship and the people in it. Dad taught a lot of people that same lesson while at the same time seeking to encourage people to try a new adventure.
Several years ago, my brothers, my dad, and I took a guy’s trip that involved some four-wheeling in West Virginia. We had a BLAST! But it was so interesting to watch Dad. As much as he loved that trip, he was way more cautious than my brothers and me, and we had to be much more careful when driving him around in the Polaris. He was often telling us to slow down, but it was pretty noisy, and we didn’t always hear him so good. :)
As I reflect on Dad’s view of adventure, it makes me think of how much our world and our culture has changed in the last decade or so.
I am convinced that one of the primary drivers of people feeling unfulfilled in our culture is the lack of true adventure in our lives. Perhaps better stated, it is the lack of advantageous adventure. By “advantageous” I mean what Mr. Webster means, namely: “favorable; profitable; useful; beneficial.”
If we are honest, the number of opportunities for adventure (of all kinds) in our lives is virtually limitless, pun intended. However, the number decreases substantially when we limit our choices to ideas and activities that are advantageous or beneficial. It is just as Paul said: “Everything is permissible—but not everything is beneficial.”2
I like the way Eugene Peterson says it: “Looking at it one way, you could say, ‘Anything goes. Because of God's immense generosity and grace, we don't have to dissect and scrutinize every action to see if it will pass muster.’ But the point is not to just get by.”3
The point… is not to just get by.
My dad instilled in us the desire to look for adventure that’s beneficial — to self and others. I, by no means, have always hit the bull’s eye on this, but I when I have failed, I hear my dad’s voice calling me, “Take care of the ship, son, but get back out to sea, because…”
The point is not just to get by.
The fact is that most of us fill up our lives with adventure that is “permissible” but not necessarily beneficial. We run our lives and businesses, and — when we need an escape of sorts — we look for the “adventure” that is closest at hand: an escape to the Internet, a drive in our car, a beer at a bar — this list goes on. All of these are fairly convenient with varying risk factors.
But the point is not just to get by.
And I learned from my dad that taking the easy, permissible adventure often leaves us wanting more, because it’s often an empty promise that ends in feeling like we’re just getting by.
I think from Dad’s current point-of-view, he’d probably say to me — and to you — “This whole idea of adventure is a life lived to the fullest extent.”
Have you been in port too long? What’s keeping you from pursuing your dreams? Who were you uniquely created to be and become?
I’ll leave you with two more quotes and your own thoughts…
