The Five Senses of Adventurers

In my first post, I asked “What is Adventure?” and discussed how it can be absolutely anything you want it to be. That's the beauty of adventure—it's purely defined by the adventurer.

Which begs the question, what makes someone an adventurer? The duh! answer is an “adventurous spirit,” but what does that mean exactly? Well, I think you can look at that spirit as being made up of five individual senses. Not the ones you usually think of (sight, touch, smell...) although those are the ones that allow you to fully appreciate your adventures. Instead, I'm talking about the following senses, each of which is important on its own in many aspects of your life but, which together, add up to a fully developed “sense of adventure.”

Sense of curiosity
It may have killed the cat, but I bet that cat was on a heck of an adventure when he went. Curiosity is to adventure what a spark is to an inferno. If you find yourself regularly asking questions like How? and Why? and What Would Happen If?, then even the smallest action—like saying hello to a stranger—can be an adventure. If not, then no amount of travelling or sweating or adrenaline pumping is going to make you an adventurer.

Sense of purpose
It's not enough to just do something for the sake of doing it. You have to have a reason for doing it, which could fall anywhere in the spectrum from searching for the meaning of life to just having fun. If the only reason you're doing something is “because so-and-so does it,” then you're not an adventurer. One caveat: You can fall into some of the best adventures purely by accident (I'll be talking about that in future posts) but, even then, once you've recognized the situation for what it is, don't be surprised if you find there was a reason for it all along.

Sense of pride
Too often, pride gets misinterpreted as showing off or pure vanity. But true pride, the pride that comes from trying something new and giving it your all, is a quality that should be commended. This can be the most difficult sense for many adventurers to cultivate. I know that I struggle with it. When I had my first bylined article published in a national magazine, it was a major milestone in my life. I had worked hard for years to develop my writing skills, I researched markets and racked my brain to come up with ideas that might interest them, and then I had to sell myself (something I really hate doing). But when the article appeared, I hesitated to broadcast my success, even to family and friends. Would they think I was bragging? Is this really not that big a deal? I mean, it's not like I was going to win a Pulitzer or anything for it. But as the words of support and congratulations poured in, I finally let myself enjoy the pride of my accomplishment, making my adventure all that much sweeter.

Sense of humour
If everything goes right for you all the time, you're probably not an adventurer—because you're probably not a human being. For the rest of us, having a sense of humour may very well be THE most important quality to survive the inevitable trips and spills and gaffes that come along with pushing ourselves outside our safe little boxes. The first year I lived in Japan, my two Canadian girlfriends came to my little village so we could spend Christmas together, a holiday most Japanese people don't celebrate. There were no twinkling lights or carols being sung or mouthwatering scents of savory and sage wafting from the kitchen. Instead, my friends and I huddled under our comforters (central heating also not a big tradition in Japan), slurping ramen noodles and watching tapes of Knots Landing that a friend of mine from home used to send me. A non-adventurer would have been thoroughly depressed by the scene. But that was probably one of the best Christmases I've ever spent. It's definitely the most memorable. You gotta be able to laugh.

Common sense
There are people out there who don't consider something an adventure unless they're literally risking their lives. Good on 'em. But physical danger is absolutely NOT a requirement for being an adventurer. While I have learned that you should never say never, I feel pretty comfortable in saying that I will never go skydiving. It's not so much that I'm afraid of the chute not opening and ending up splattered on the ground. The heart attack would kill me long before then. Does that mean I'm not really an adventurer? Of course not! Yes, the point of adventure is to push your limits, but that doesn't mean you're not allowed to have any. It's perfectly okay to take things slowly or even (gasp!) not do them at all. Common sense will tell you what you're ready for and what you're not. Listen to it.

And so we're back to where we started. Adventure is defined by the adventurer. All you need is a little curiosity, purpose, pride, humour, and common sense. Sounds like the perfect recipe to me. Ready to start cooking?

Comments

[Christine Land]

Would all that add up to a 'sense of adventure'? Would that be a sixth sense - like intuition?
Being the disseminator of the "Whaddaya-live-for? . . ADVENTURRE!" mantra of those Japan days, I was tickled to open this blog.
As you say, feel the fear and do it anyway. Well, you didn't specifically say that here, but we used to - even if what we meant was somewhat different than what Susan Jeffers meant.
Anyway, it's great to see that the philosophy prevails. Your adventures, from moving to L.A. to getting an MBA to freelancing are always impressive.
Christine from Canada

[Elizabeth Kricfalusi]

Fellow adventurers: The post below comes to us courtesy of THE Christine (from my About page), who inspired the tagline--and attitude--for this blog.

Thanks for the kind words, PG! (She knows what it means...)