Humans need adventure. From whatever your standpoint, whether you value the brain’s processes, the body’s mechanics, the soul’s faith; there is something inherently necessary for each in the passion one finds by fulfilling their own adventures. We as humans require the feelings, mentally, physically, emotionally, that discovery and curiosity provide for us. This is what adventure does for us – allows us not just to be breath and live, but to be alive, to be more than just empty meat and bones. There is but one thing that can endanger adventure: danger. Real or imagined, the fear of danger is what discourages most from following their passions, seeking new horizons. Other obstacles are more easily overcome – finding resources necessary for fulfilling desires, for funding travel and supporting oneself. These are material obstacles, but it’s that mental block, that fear of the unknown, the not knowing itself, which influences most. Staying home, staying in one’s comfort zone, in the known, is much easier, safer, less overwhelming. With every new day, each news story we hear, the world seems to hold more unknowns, more danger.
Russia. I wanted to go to Russia. Before I knew I’d have a golden opportunity to just that, I knew I wanted to travel, to seek and adventure and explore. I shared that dream with anyone who asked. Family mostly. And I will never forget that, before I even considered a college trip to study winter ecology in the Russian countryside, I heard warnings. About the danger of travelling, especially in these times. About how, if I must travel, I should only go to ’safe´ countries. Russia was named outright as the opposite of this, as a place I should not go. Maybe it’s naive, but if anything, these warnings only encouraged me. I wanted to prove them wrong.
I went to Russia. And believe me when I say there was not one moment when I felt any less safe than I did in my own home town. Our hosts were beyond courteous, offering us songs, stories, adventures, accompanying us even when it was not required of them. We griped about our respective governments to each other, ate and drank, laughed and learned together, sharing a home for a week.
When embarking on a new adventure outside your comfort zone, I don’t mean that you shouldn’t be afraid; rather, there is nothing to fear in the first place. Don’t get me wrong – there are dangers in nearly every place on earth: our fellow human beings, natural disasters….But these risks can affect you within you comfort zone as well, and should not be an excuse for you do avoid expanding your horizons. Doing something different, going somewhere new should not in itself be so scary that you refuse to undertake any exploration. Robert Louis Stevenson was right when he said “There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” Humans are social creatures, and at their deepest levels understand this need to seek and discover – most will not fault you for fulfilling it. And the ones that do are likely ignorant or scared themselves. Do not let them dissuade you. It may take work, and time, more so for some than for others, to overcome the fear of being in a new place surrounded by people whom you do not know. But it is worth it, and you will forever be thankful for the experiences. Don’t let the potential risks of life stop you from living.
