I was in a mall the other day walking along, and it was the mid afternoon, so it wasn’t quite that busy. And I happen to notice that many, many, many of the clerks in the smaller stalls were doing absolutely nothing. They were only looking at their phones. Some, of course, were feigning work. They They were trying to do some stock analysis or restocking some shelves, a little dusting.
But for the most part, no one was doing anything at all because, of course, there were no customers. And I thought to myself, gosh, how we’ve changed. These people are in desperate need of an adventure, a great adventure. So the question came to me, what is an adventure? Well, I think at the very beginning, when I gained consciousness at 20 or so, I have to realize that my life is the greatest adventure of all.
In the stars, the cosmos, the bugs, the bees, the ants, the dogs, other people, somehow somehow I was given me. Me. I wasn’t given you, I was given me. And yes, of course, we know the biological excuse Two people make love and produce life. But regardless, here I am in this great adventure.
But, of course, the vast majority of us most assuredly do not recognize that it actually is an adventure until it’s far, far too late. So I’d like to share some adventures that I reflect on now at 68 years old. The very first adventure that I had was when I was six years old. That was my first day of school. We didn’t have kindergarten, and I was born in this small industrial town, logging town on the West Coast Of Vancouver Island.
And it was really a wonderful experience in that sense. I remember it as being very, very green and everyone being extremely kind. Lot of flowers. The ocean, you could smell the ocean. It wasn’t too far away.
The sense of salt, and you could hear the seagulls. And it was really interesting then to go to this institution called school because I was relatively free as a child before school. School, we had missus Clark. Older woman, firm, ran the school just like my grandmother ran her home. There was no insolence allowed.
Everyone was quiet. We lined up. They checked our nails. We sang God Save the Queen, and we sat down. No talking in class.
My second adventure was grade three. In grade three, we had a teacher by the name of miss Clegg. Now we’ve all read Greek mythology, I’m sure. Aphrodite, and she comes into the room and she’s magnificent. This was miss Clegg.
I remember arriving in the classroom and the sun streamed through the window and caught her golden hair. Never forgot that moment. What an adventure to be eight years old and fall in love. Then, my next adventure, if we run along, was my first dance. I was 12 years old and I went to a dance under the table because of course, very conservative and strict times, and I had a dance with Connie Hoberson.
And to this day, I remember this. It was like magic. The sparks came out of me. The lights turned on and off. Terrifying experience, but enlightening.
And then we came to a later time, finished school, lived in France, ran out of money, and had to come home. And, of course, I’m not gonna ask my parents for money. I’m now a man. So I ended up after France, after Paris, up to Amsterdam, a flight to New York, train up to Montreal, and then like an absolute foolish young man, I asked someone, how far is it to Vancouver? And I know the map, and I’ve studied geography.
It’s 5,000 kilometers. But let’s ask the people who really know. So I’m sitting in this coffee shop at the entrance to a highway, the freeway going west. And the man one of the people beside me said, oh, I don’t know. Maybe a day, day and a half if you get unlucky.
Wow. That’s nothing. So I marched up the highway. Totally illegal, of course, to hitchhike on the highway, but I did think probably caused a minor car accident. Regardless, I was off.
My great adventure across Canada with no money in the winter time. Guarantee something. You should never ever ever try this. It went on. I was picked up by gangsters and thieves, and every imaginable piece of humanity was presented to me, this frail young man, 19 years old, on the way.
But I survived, and then my adventure was over. I was back home. And so it goes on. I think everyone has had a beginning like that. Right?
An adventurous beginning. So how can I document the beginning? Well, I think that I have to really realize that because my life is that glorious adventure, the beginning is each and every day, isn’t it, to a large extent? Write it down. Write down in my notebook.
Write down my thoughts. Write down where I’m going. So what is an adventure? Well, some definitions maybe. It’s truly a thrilling journey, isn’t it?
Absolutely. It’s most assuredly, at least in my case, a great test of courage. And then, of course, it is also a spiritual journey. This summer, I’m going to go and walk the El Camino between France and Spain, and that should be probably a spiritual journey. Right?
For sure. It could be if you’re angry enough as a young man, a test of defiance, an act of defiance, but I hope not. That’s not a good thing for sure. You know, Joseph Campbell, he describes it as a romantic escapade. I started the beginning.
I’m faced with these challenges. I must overcome them. Changes me. I become a better man. I return home.
Right? Battle against the odds. It’s a mythic journey. Right? And ultimately, it is no matter where you go in today’s world, a cultural awakening.
So I think it’s very important that we realize that life is truly a great adventure, but I must make it so. Is it not true? I must decide that my piece of life is fantastic and I’m going to make it something special. So think to yourself, what is my great adventure? What is it?
When will it happen and where will it be? Document this. It’s very important. And you’d know what they say. You know what they say.
If you want to go on your great adventure, you must realize that critical thinking is extremely important and critical thinking is everything. You take care. God bless. Bye bye.