A new path in life. A new hope. A new adventure. You think lots of things when you set out on a new adventure. I would apologize for the inelegant language, but in all of its awkward glory, “You think lots of things,” is true. Especially if you’re me.
Whatever that adventure may be, you have all sorts of expectations about this adventure from the get-go. No matter how hard you try to keep yourself from forming these ridiculous notions, assumptions, possibilities, they happen. Positive and negative alike, they run around your brain until you feel like an elephant has been chasing a mouse across every upended, disheveled lobe. They also didn’t mind taking a jaunt down to your swiftly beating heart to run a few laps. Now that I’ve painted you a current status picture, I’ll move on.
I like to play with words. Literally, play with them, like they are puzzle pieces. I’m not sure why. I remember my parents commending me on the use of “big” words as a kid. (“Vociferous” is one of my favorites. It really is widely underused.) For some unknown reason, I looked up the definition of an “adventure” recently. One of the main definitions states: a bold, usually risky undertaking; hazardous action of uncertain outcome. Oh, ok. I thought an adventure meant, “Let’s go have some fun on an adventure!” e.g., See definition of adventure part 1: an exciting or very unusual experience. Whether you set out on an adventure to find an unusual experience, take a risk, or to find some excitement, there’s a good chance you might run into all three during the course of your journey. Count on it. Expect it. Relish it like a string quartet enveloping you in its climactic notes. This adventure is once in a lifetime.
(I had this Phillip Glass piece in mind.)
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live... 