"TIPs & QUIPs" Archive

Subject: Lifescope TIPs & QUIPs [05] "Adventure"

TIPs & QUIPs, the free occasional e-mail of helpful hints and quotes (and
sometimes challenging suggestions) for getting the most from life.

In this issue:
     *** WiseWords
     *** This Issue's Theme
     *** Suggested Resources
     *** Thrive On! Recommended Site

*** WiseWords ***
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do
 children as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run
 than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or it is nothing."
   --Hellen Keller

"You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water. 
 Don't let yourself indulge in vain wishes."
   --Rabindranath Tagore

"Caution: Cape does not enable user to fly."
   --Batman Costume warning label

(For a collection of some of our favorite WiseWords, see our web page at
<http://www.lifescope.com/pages/WiseWords.html>.)


*** This issue's theme:  A D V E N T U R E
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Whoa, hang on to your hat -- here we go!
Adventure is by normal definition, an unusual or exciting experience. Some
people believe that an element of danger or risk must be involved to truly
'have an adventure.'

Everything's relative. What may be one person's adventure is another's
humdrum existence. Most would agree, for example, that thrashing through a
jungle with a machete to escape a charging rhinosaurous would fall into the
'adventurous outing' category. But what about trying that new restaurant
featuring food from a country you can't easily find on a map? All of the
defining parts are there: unusual, exciting, risky and perhaps even a
little dangerous.

Adventure, it seems, lurks closer than we realize.

We've all heard stories, too, about someone happening upon some little
adventure, simply by taking a wrong turn, or being in the wrong place at
the wrong time. (Or right place at the right time, if it turns out well.)
Arbitrary? Ahh -- non-predictable, with an unclear outcome -- another key
characteristic.

And what about those 'close-call' adventures that pass right by us, often
without our being aware of them? Whether an accident or a missed
opportunity, we'll never know how closely we came to having our lives
changed forever.

Adventure, it seems, lurks closer than we realize.

Pitfalls to adventure? Familiarity. Adventures can become ordinary. Take
air travel, for instance  -- many folks now catch a plane as if it were a
bus. They glance out the window and scarcely pause to consider that this
incredible vista point was an impossibility only one hundred years ago.
(Should the ride get bumpy, though, and they quickly gain newfound
appreciation of their position.)

Adventure, it seems, lurks closer than we realize.

So -- if we can't always perceive it, can't predict it, can't control it --
then why the heck do we pursue it?

Because a life without adventure is no life at all.
Or to put it another way: Life IS an adventure.

Recall the definition of adventure? An experience or undertaking which has
some or all of the following traits: unusual, exciting, risky, dangerous,
unpredictable. Doesn't that describe LIFE?

Here are just SOME of the benefits of having an adventuresome spirit:
   * you experience more,
   * you have more fun,
   * more parts of you get involved -- you become a more whole person,
   * you discover yourself, and get to know you,
   * you discover others, and get to know them,
   * you discover your world, and get to know how things fit together,
   * and you get more from life.

So how do you get more adventure, and hence more life, in your life?
   * Put yourself in situations that have some uncertainty.
          Join a class.
          Take a new way home. 
          Strike up a conversation with a stranger.
   * Involve more of your five senses in everything you do.
          Smell the air while you eat your lunch. 
          Look at body posture (yours or theirs) during conversation.
          F-e-e-l your bed when you go sleep. 
   * Don't let life get ordinary.
          Reflect daily on some wondrous happening.
          Learn something new every day.
          Visit a maternity ward and a retirement home on the same day.

The rules of inertia apply here: (A body at rest stays at rest unless
forced to move.) So you can safely expect that adventures usually don't
find you -- you've got to go find your adventures. Here follow some
resources with plenty of ideas...


*** Suggested Resources ***
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Adventures CD v1.0
   by Deep River Publishing
Want to paraglide in Aspen or trek through Tibet? This multimedia software
will take you there with 2,500 full-color photographs, 425 MB of video,
CD-quality audio, and over 2,000 pages of text. Whether you're planning or
daydreaming, you'll get the lowdown on activities, prices, best times to
visit, contacts, and more. Includes educational tours, garden walks,
archaeological digs, budget travel, and kid's programs. An interactive
search tool makes it easy to find the perfect adventure. Requires Windows
3.1 and CD-ROM drive.
     (Windows software on CD) Item# F5126-SW
          SRP$29.95  (see link for special price)
        Buy this item online now at Lifescope.com.


The Ultimate Adventure Sourcebook
  by Paul McMenamin
Rafting, windsurfing, climbing, diving, horseback riding, fishing-plus
twenty more categories; whatever your passion, this exquisite book will
guide you to the finest adventures offered by the best outfitters, tour
companies, and resorts worldwide. All ratings (from one to five stars) are
reliable and sound; the publisher guarantees that "no company bought its
way into this book." The most comprehensive project of its kind, with over
10,000 trips, tours, and training programs. Stunning photographs
throughout. A coffeetable keeper.
     (oversize softcover book, 432pp) Item# F5205-BK
          SRP$29.95  (see link for special price)
     [sorry, no longer available]


*** Thrive On! Recommended Site ***
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Fielding's Dangerous Places  <http://www.fieldingtravel.com/dp/menu.html>
Sure, sure -- it's got the requisite 'I am man because I laugh in the face
of danger' type trips (both ego and literal), but Fielding's has put
together a truly outstanding site which provides much more than a mere
travel and adventure guide. It's a thorough resource for the world
traveler. You'll find listings of 'hot-spot' places & events, as you'd
expect, but you also get good practical info about how to get around in our
world -- safely, while having a good time. How to pack, how to travel, and
how to research where you're going. And if their resources aren't enough
for you, they list many other publications and guides that will more than
keep you busy on the 20-hour plane ride to your "Adventure of a Lifetime."

But I most appreciate the attitude of key author Robert Young Pelton.
In his own words: "This is our primitive formula for success: Educate
people as to what is going on and then show them how to fix it. Knowledge
fights fear, builds hope, exposes cowards, supports the just and makes the
world a better place. We do not aspire to greatness, but we do hope that we
intrigue enough people to want to know how to gather information and then
do something with it."

Happy Adventuring (through Life), --Lee Lukehart


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The contents herein are solely the opinions of Lifescope editors, and should 
not be considered as a form of therapy nor advice. There is no guarantee of 
validity or accuracy. Lifescope therefore assumes no responsibility for injury
and specifically disclaims any warranty, express or implied, of fitness or 
merchantability for a particular purpose. Besides, actual mileage may vary.

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