Reading is a part of my morning and sparks my ideas for a big adventure.  Doesn’t matter where I end up in life-there is something for me to read.  Living in a large log home has some serious benefits when you are the first one up.  In the winter time, I light a fire, grab a blanket and read words for my soul and my mind.  In the summer, I sit outside of our bedroom and try to catch up on all the magazines and items that are on my “to read” list while the sun rises.  The dog sits next to me on the nearby couch and goes back to sleep as I get lost in the stories.

Reading is precious time.  It is from these times that I get ideas for Big Adventures.  My first Big Adventures started as nothing more than vacations with detailed plans.  As I have matured, they are more like outlines of rest stops on a ride across America.

You see, the story behind the Big Adventure isn’t the adventure.  The story is that you start at one end and when you come out the other side, you are a different person.  That “different person” is more mature and has added new thoughts to his or her identity.

If life is a menu at a restaurant, our better adventures add entirely new cuisines to our menu.  It is like adding an “Italian” section to our Greek menu.

Too often, we confuse mundane adventures with Big Adventures.  In the Big Adventure category are items that take REAL efforts to achieve.  Oftentimes, we equate the amount of money we spent with our effort levels, and we fail to see that the size of the credit card charge is not related to the size of the adventure.

Before we know it, we have spent a lot of money, taken little risk and only change a little.  These partial deviations from our comfort zone create nothing more than additional desserts on the menu of life that seldom make it to the critics’ must try lists.

For me, joining the Peace Corps added a couple of pages to my menu, as did becoming a focused athlete, joining the Scouting movement, and accepting Jesus as my God.

At work, one of my friends is in the middle of a Big Adventure.  She is not even halfway through her preparation for a Spartan Race, and she is already reaching new spaces.  I am blessed to get to play a small role in her Adventure, and I am one of many people who are watching the different person come out the other side.  In essence, we are watching a wine list get added to the menu in real time.  See below.

Getting people to see that there are more interesting items than their current selection of thoughts and experiences is my life’s mission.  No single greater reason pushes me to get out of my comfort zone.

We all know people who sincerely think they are adding variety and value to their own lives by seeking out and finding a new restaurant.  That is sad.  Go add to your own menu, instead.

Take some risk and create a Big Adventure.  You never know who might be watching.