Why adventure is important in human life
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Life is supposed to be a series of adventures. It's impossible to understand the meaning of life without understanding that. We're all supposed to be explorers, pioneers, and treasure hunters of the soul. We're not supposed to be sleep walking through the world, caught in a routine, heads down and eyes closed to the possibilities that lie waiting all around us. This world is a dramatic arena, and each of our lives is supposed to show that in the best possible way.
"Without adventure, civilization is in full decay." (Alfred North Whitehead)
I've become convinced that we are here in this world to live a grand adventure consisting of a series of smaller adventures. We are here for discovery, growth, creative accomplishment, and loving fulfillment. Anything less is a waste of time.
Successfulê lives grow out of successful adventures. The adventure of your life is so important that it demands the best of your attention, and the most of your energies, on a daily basis, so that it can be lived well.
The world's greatest literature attests in many ways to the paradigmatic importance of adventure in human life. In the Iliad and the Odyssey, the ancient poet Homer spun tales of striking adventures that have reverberated down the centuries, capturing the interest of people in every subsequent time. In the book of Genesis, one of the foundational stories of the Bible, an account viewed as of crucial importance by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, presents Abram as a man suddenly called out of the comfort and security of his homeland for a new adventure, a journey that would eventually lead him to The Promised Land. Renamed Abraham, this adventurer is viewed as the original Father of faith, and as an individual through whom all the nations will eventually be blessed.
"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go." (Hebrews 11:8, New Testament)
The Buddha went on a quest. Mohammed lived an adventure. Moses, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Columbus, Gandhi, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Susan B. Anthony, Amelia Earhart, Martin Luther King - so many of the names that represent to us lives fully lived are those of adventurers, inventors, discoverers, liberators, creators, people who were not content to just measure out their days, but who threw themselves into a dynamic process of change for the sake of others as well as themselves.
We're fascinated and inspired by mountain climbers, sailors on the open sea, serious rafters, hot air balloonists, scuba divers, spelunkers, astronauts, and pioneers of every kind. We admire those among us who are able to break out of their routines and take the risks involved in all discovery. And, in more subtle ways, we read with interest and satisfaction the stories to be found in great novels of character challenge, emotional learning, and personal growth.
Adventures of exploration and conquest, as well as adventures of the heart, have dominated the human imagination at all times. Deep down we've somehow always known that life is meant to encompass challenging adventures, We've even suspected that human existence reaches its pinnacle in creative adventure, and yet this is an insight we too easily forget to apply to our own careers in this world. We might dream of fabulous adventures in our innermost thoughts, but thrown into an actual one, we often react with anxiety, aversion and fear.
"When you're safe at home you wish you were having an adventure; when you're e having an adventure you wish you were safe at home." (Thornton Wilder)
We live in what could be the most adventure filled time of change in all of human history, but we have not been sufficiently prepared for living that adventure well. We don't deeply enough understand the necessity of personal adventure for the happiness and fulfillment that we all ultimately seek. We need new wisdom for our lives at a time like this. And wisdom is the philosopher's job.
"Without adventure, civilization is in full decay." (Alfred North Whitehead)
I've become convinced that we are here in this world to live a grand adventure consisting of a series of smaller adventures. We are here for discovery, growth, creative accomplishment, and loving fulfillment. Anything less is a waste of time.
Successfulê lives grow out of successful adventures. The adventure of your life is so important that it demands the best of your attention, and the most of your energies, on a daily basis, so that it can be lived well.
The world's greatest literature attests in many ways to the paradigmatic importance of adventure in human life. In the Iliad and the Odyssey, the ancient poet Homer spun tales of striking adventures that have reverberated down the centuries, capturing the interest of people in every subsequent time. In the book of Genesis, one of the foundational stories of the Bible, an account viewed as of crucial importance by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, presents Abram as a man suddenly called out of the comfort and security of his homeland for a new adventure, a journey that would eventually lead him to The Promised Land. Renamed Abraham, this adventurer is viewed as the original Father of faith, and as an individual through whom all the nations will eventually be blessed.
"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go." (Hebrews 11:8, New Testament)
The Buddha went on a quest. Mohammed lived an adventure. Moses, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Columbus, Gandhi, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Susan B. Anthony, Amelia Earhart, Martin Luther King - so many of the names that represent to us lives fully lived are those of adventurers, inventors, discoverers, liberators, creators, people who were not content to just measure out their days, but who threw themselves into a dynamic process of change for the sake of others as well as themselves.
We're fascinated and inspired by mountain climbers, sailors on the open sea, serious rafters, hot air balloonists, scuba divers, spelunkers, astronauts, and pioneers of every kind. We admire those among us who are able to break out of their routines and take the risks involved in all discovery. And, in more subtle ways, we read with interest and satisfaction the stories to be found in great novels of character challenge, emotional learning, and personal growth.
Adventures of exploration and conquest, as well as adventures of the heart, have dominated the human imagination at all times. Deep down we've somehow always known that life is meant to encompass challenging adventures, We've even suspected that human existence reaches its pinnacle in creative adventure, and yet this is an insight we too easily forget to apply to our own careers in this world. We might dream of fabulous adventures in our innermost thoughts, but thrown into an actual one, we often react with anxiety, aversion and fear.
"When you're safe at home you wish you were having an adventure; when you're e having an adventure you wish you were safe at home." (Thornton Wilder)
We live in what could be the most adventure filled time of change in all of human history, but we have not been sufficiently prepared for living that adventure well. We don't deeply enough understand the necessity of personal adventure for the happiness and fulfillment that we all ultimately seek. We need new wisdom for our lives at a time like this. And wisdom is the philosopher's job.
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