Life is an Adventure ...
“If happiness is the goal – and it should be, then adventures should be top priority.”
—Richard Branson
Of our family, Mala is the one who most enjoys being at home, but we all love adventuring together. Maybe none of us as much as Ella, so we’ll let her tell you about why you should live life as though it’s a grand adventure.
Ella
I was always up for an adventure from the beginning. I was lucky to be adopted by a person who loved adventure as much as I did. Mom worked a lot during periods of our time together, but she always made sure we got out to see the world as much as possible. When we only had a weekend, we mostly adventured on nearby trails in the area's foothills or lakes or reservoirs. Mom was good about taking her vacation time, and I was thrilled when those weeks off included me. Sometimes she would have to fly to a far-off place, so I would either stay at home with a pet sitter or go to the farm that doubled as a boarding kennel.
Road trips were my favorite because we got to see places I hadn’t been to before. We traveled all over the western United States together. Colorado is big and has a lot of great places to visit, and we explored as much of it as possible from the Eastern plains to the Southwest mountain towns. One of our first trips was when my grandparents and great-grandmother came all the way out to Colorado from New Hampshire to see me and Mom. We piled into Mom’s Jeep Liberty and drove all over the state. We walked to the highest point in Rocky Mountain National Park, went to wine country, stopped by a huge lake, checked out Ouray (which had a somewhat intimidating statue of a mountain lion on Main Street that startled me when I first saw it), and drove up Pikes Peak. Not only was it a fabulous adventure, but my grandparents made sure I had all the treats I needed.
In addition to exploring Colorado, I traveled to Utah, Nevada, California, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, New Mexico, and Arizona. I was completely fine with riding in the car for long hours so we could discover new places. I loved looking out over the ocean, mountains, and canyons that make the western part of the United States so beautiful.
I kept adventuring right up until the end, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. As Hunter S. Thompson wrote in The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967 “Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived, or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed?”
I know I’m lucky to have gotten to do so many things and travel to a lot of places. Some dogs live their lives fenced in or tied up in their yard and never get to go anywhere else. What a boring life that must be. People are lucky they have the freedom to go wherever they want. Not everyone takes advantage of those opportunities. I’m not sure why they don’t; maybe some of it is fear of the unknown. Travel and adventure expand your horizons. You learn about yourself, and about how others live. Experiencing new places allows you to truly live, and not just exist.
It’s no wonder that the people who don’t open themselves up to adventure tend to feel a bit blah about life. A life of adventure is one of endless opportunity. The more you explore, the more of this great big world you experience, and the more you discover who you are and what makes you happy. If you’re not happy, change something. Try something new. It doesn’t have to be a big thing like traveling to a far-off place; it could be as simple as sitting in your backyard and admiring the way the leaves flutter in the breeze or listening to the chirp of a bird. Take off your shoes and feel the grass beneath your feet. Take a moment to see your space in a new way. Take your dog along. We’re great at living life as though it’s a grand adventure.