All Part of the Adventure

Heavy train traffic meant a layover in Chicago on our vacation

                Some of the best advice I ever received came from a middle-aged Dutch tour guide named Paul who led a European bus trip I took with my daughter (age 10) and a good friend and her daughter.  Paul had a catch-phrase he used whenever there was a detour, delay, cancellation, or unexpected wrench thrown in the works of the day, “Just remember, it’s all part of the adventure.”

                I use it a lot, sometimes more tongue-in-cheek than seriously.  My daughter always rolls her eyes at me when I say it, but it is a wonderful shift in perspective that can salvage a frustrating moment.  After all, how many times in life do things unfold perfectly?  Close to zero, no matter how well-prepared you are.  So if we look at life as a great adventure and the problems that arise as part of it, we may appreciate those moments a little more.

                What kinds of problems show up?  Well, one is getting stuck waiting—in a long line, in stopped traffic, at the airport in bad weather.  Yes, I need to be somewhere but face it, there is not a thing I can do about it.  I just remember, it’s all part of the adventure.  I might have needed some down time—I should enjoy the rest.  The person next to me probably has an interesting story.  The people across the waiting room with the baby might stir-up cherished old memories.  Have I taken time to pray today?  Do I need some head time to create or dream or ponder?  Can I see the sun set out the window?  Nobody gets excited about waiting, but it doesn’t have to be torturous.

                Maybe it was someone else’s drama that detoured our plans.  First of all, if the other person’s drama is of the self-absorbed, it’s-all-about-me variety, my advice probably won’t work.  We are doomed to be annoyed by it, but keep in mind that we pay dearly every year to enjoy similar situations on cable TV and at the theater, so here’s our chance to be inserted into the middle of it.  Joking aside, with real drama (trauma might be a better word) comes pain and concern for others.  Experience it!  Humans are blessed with the remarkable gift of empathy.  Part of life’s adventure is to feel.  Hurt and worry for another means that your heart is open to love.  The alternative to feeling this pain is indifference—the ultimate emptiness of the soul.  Embrace the moment when an other’s drama fills your life with emotion.  Let it preempt the plans you had.

                The last “wrench in the works” I’ll mention is when plans fall apart due to natural causes—weather, budget, flat tires, illness.  Where’s the adventure in missing a vacation in the sun because you are buried in snow?  The adventure is in what you make of it.  Read a book you’ve always wanted to.  Explore a local tourist attraction.  Try a new recipe and eat it by candlelight.  Speak to a neighbor you don’t know well.

                We make our lives into something great by how we deal with the unexpected bumps in the road.  Trade in the frustration and impatience for openness to evolving situations.  What have we got to lose?