I’ve come up with a brand-new reality tv show. Roughly based on “The Bachelorette,” it would feature me on a beach. With a fruity drink in my hand, I would watch the parade of eligibles, only this time, the contestants would be books.
Who will I choose to spend the rest of my life with? Will it be Pride and Prejudice? Or The Lord of the Rings trilogy? Why, it will be the Oxford English Dictionary, of course! Since I could never hope to read every single entry, I would be eternally delighted and surprised.
Take the OED’s entries on “adventure,” for instance. It tells me an adventure could be a chance event. An accident. A wonder. A marvel. An audacious undertaking. To risk oneself. To dare. Then it quotes Lovelich’s History of the Holy Grail: “Go As Aventure will the lede.” Go where adventure will lead? You bet!
Gosh, OED, you’re so dreamy.
I thought about the word “adventure” recently as I was waiting to teach yoga in the yard at my new house. As I sat on my mat, I saw a cloud of dust blow down the street. It took me a minute to realize it was a yellow cloud of pollen, leaving an evergreen.
An audacious undertaking, indeed. A “go as adventure will lead.” That pollen might land on a windshield. It might land in someone’s nose. It might land on good soil. And grow into a tree.
While it might seem as if we have no control, as if life happens to us, we have all kinds of ways to choose our own adventures. And this doesn’t mean you have to eat fire, or go skydiving naked. (Oh, good God—all those parts, flapping in the wind—no thank you!)
Your adventure might be as simple as be less concerned with what others think.
Or revel in your mess.
Fuse your joys into your life so deeply so that life and joy become inseparable.
Shepherd your words. Let them feel safe and secure as they make their way out into the world. Jubilate the wisdom, and lionize the grit of your own voice.
Shatter the things that are keeping you small.
Go deep.
But if that makes you tired, go easy.
Broadcast your weird and see who tunes in.
When it’s dark inside or out, mushroom. Get low. Dig in. And grow.
Skip the shame, and if you can’t, at least quit feeding it bonbons.
Skulk for no one.
Dismantle the traps you set for yourself, and don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.
Find something to swoon over. The moon. A child’s smile. The evergreen letting go of a cloud of pollen that will float into the world and hopefully find good soil.
Ride the wild, but steer clear of the rocks.
Delight in what is untamed inside.
Be audacious in your undertakings, and go as adventure will lead.
And live. You only get one life, so choose your adventure (and your books!) well.
Live light, y’all.