Welcome to this month's edition of Adventurous Life!
In this issue:
I welcome your thoughts, feedback & suggestions for stories.
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What Are You Feeding Your Dream?
This month, I spent four days flat on the couch with the flu, able to do little but sleep and watch television. For someone who went years without owning a TV set, this was quite a shocking experience. And it gave me insight into something that people ask me about - how can I spend so much of my time generating creative ideas and high levels of energy? I've known for some time that it's partly because I don't spend that time and energy invested in television, but didn't fully realize until this month how many insidious and creativity-draining messages I avoid in the process.
I'm not just talking about the blatant marketing messages, the barrage of companies trying to sell us on the idea that they can fix what's "wrong" with us. I'm talking about the very concept of sitting and sucking up entertainment. I'm talking about how easy it was to absorb myself in the completely undemanding vision of the world as "out there" rather than right here, in my own hands. To believe that if I just sat there long enough, someone would choose me to be on their reality show. Reality show?!
Have you got a dream? It deserves your attention - right now. Whether it's to start your own business, find a great relationship, plan your next trip, or renovate your home, your dream needs inspiration, care and nourishment. Today, make a pact with yourself - whatever information (and entertainment) you take in over the next three months will support you in pursuing your dream. Everything you choose to absorb has to pass this test: "Does this give me the tools/information/energy I need to realize my dream?"
Here's a crazy idea: Try locking your television in the closet for three months and seeing what substitutes you come up with. It's amazing how easy it is to come home from work, think "Gee, I'm tired," sink down in front of the TV for hours, and get up feeling no better than before. Not having the option forces you to think, "Gee, I'm tired," and then go outside for a walk…or take a nap…or call a friend for dinner…or read a book…or just sit quietly and think of the possibilities in your own life! Got a crazy idea? Send it to me!
"Computers
are useless.
They can only
give you answers."
- Pablo Picasso
Top 5 Ideas to Inspire You This Month
- Take a walk in the woods with your sketchbook
- Buy a bus ticket to a place you've never been - then go!
- Take a whole day to do whatever you feel like doing - even if that's nothing at all
- Buy a world map and hang it in a prominent place
- Eat with your hands - make a big mess
"A painting is
never finished -
it simply stops
in interesting places."
- Paul Gardner
I have a confession to make: I didn't play enough this month. I got working so hard on "getting things done," I forgot to practice what I preach, which is Whatever You Do, Have Fun!
Sure, I've been kayaking and writing and walking in the woods, but only as part of a tight schedule, and not with the full joy I usually feel while participating in these activities. Why? Because I haven't been leaving space for the sort of spontaneous creativity that only happens when there's plenty of room for it.
This month's top creativity tip: Make room in your life for some silliness. Need some suggestions? Get a children's activity book from the library and do a few of the projects (if you need kids as an excuse and don't have any of your own, borrow a friend's for the afternoon.)
What's your favorite creative activity? Send me your ideas!
10 Great Reasons to Get Up in the Morning
This month's 10 Great Reasons were submitted by Julia B. of London, U.K.
- A sunbeam landing on my white duvet, after days of wet dull Spring
- A warm, noisy London street outside, and my curiosity about the day ahead
- Radio Four news droning in my semi-consciousness, and me wanting to tune in and listen properly
- An urge to write down a dream I'd been having, involving a hyena and a bicycle
- To check my mobile phone for text messages from a man on a yacht in New Zealand
- The need to get the bus into work early to finish off a fun project I was doing yesterday
- No worry and fuss about what to wear, I'd got it ready the night before
- A new fruity smelling shampoo and a tasty energy drink to wake me up
- The knowledge that today I would book my Christmas holiday safari in Kenya
- Looking forward to a Wednesday evening yoga class, and a jacuzzi and sauna treat
Travel
Corner: Getting Around Once You're There --
Public Transportation
Whether you're planning an around-the-world trip, or an intensive exploration of some special corner of the globe, you'll have to get yourself from place to place once you've arrived in the country. Most major cities will greet newcomers with honking car horns and diesel bus fumes. Some will add motorcycles, horse carts, ferries, and rickshaws to the mix, with random bicycles and pedestrians thrown in for flavor. Look around you and get creative once you're there. Public transportation is the prime mode of travel in every country except the U.S.A. (travel hints for the U.S. in a moment), so tends to be affordable, available, and convenient.
Once you've explored your initial destination city for a couple of days (or minutes, depending on your tolerance for cities), you'll most likely want to launch yourself toward other sites. Your guide book will contain specific recommendations for the country (or countries) you're visiting, but the following are a few general turths for the most common forms of travel...
Read the complete article on my web site.
Join
me for my travel workshop "Get Going! Discover and Live Your Travel
Dreams" on June 13, 6:30 - 9:30 pm, at Rochester Info Courses.
Register at www.infocourses.com.
To learn more about the workshop, look under their "Featured Courses" section, or visit www.judywolf.com/workshops.htm.
About the author:
Judy Wolf is a world traveler, freelance writer, workshop facilitator, and speaker. Since studying and traveling extensively abroad through college, she's taken numerous, extended solo journeys around the world, traveling by foot, bus, jeep, camel, truck, boat, train, plane, and bicycle to destinations including Central America, Europe, Russia, South America, Southeast Asia (including India and Nepal) and 38 states here in the USA. She's currently working on a book-length travel narrative about her most recent adventures.
Learn more at www.judywolf.com.
What gets you up in the morning? What do you most enjoy doing?
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Copyright © 2002 Judy Wolf
