Adventure Dreaming
When was the last time you had an adventure dream?
What is adventure dreaming? It’s when you stumble across a place, person, or thing that gets you thinking about an adventure you’ve never embarked upon. Something new and outside your comfort zone. Adventure dreaming is all about growing beyond your normal sphere of trips and routines, and doing something that challenges you. Let me give you a few ideas of what I mean.
When you have a weekend free, what do you do? Chances are you either stay home and get things done, or you head out for a little entertainment or exercise. If you like to go out to eat, maybe you’re trying a new restaurant; if you like to hike, maybe you’re trying a new location; and if you like to shop, maybe you go to a new store… but where is the adventure here? You may be trying something new, but actually, you’re just changing the color. In other words, if you like to go out to eat and you’re choosing a new restaurant, do they offer food you don’t ‘like’? Of course not. It’s typically food you know and love. The only thing that’s changing is the location.
Adventure dreaming is when you stumble across something that intrigues you in a new way and makes you want to go do something you’ve never done before! Like going hiking when you’ve never tried it (and I don’t mean a walk in the park), eating at a restaurant with a menu that’s not in English, or shopping on another continent.
How to Start Adventure Dreaming
One of the best ways to get started is to scan Pinterest or Instagram by topics you already enjoy. Like hiking. And then add a word on the end, like “hiking Italy,” or “hiking alone.” (One of my favorite search phrases for this is “Wanderlust,” give it go.) This will trigger images and ideas you may not have considered. You can also do this by reading magazines, newspapers, and even podcasts. Start with a topic that resonates with you on some level, and then follow it through with something totally new and unexplored.
I’ll share one of my recent adventure dreams with you. Obviously, I like to travel, but I typically travel to places that I can easily get to or have a connection to. I also prefer some luxuries (if I’m not camping). The other day, however, I was ‘adventure dreaming’ about Canada, so I searched “remote Canada,” and came across some places that totally intrigued me. None of them fit my typical ‘recipe’ for travel, but you can bet I’m going to give them a try one of these days. Like Free Spirit Spheres in Vancouver, round little balls that hang in the trees, Ice Hotels and Igloos near Quebec, or the Japanese bathhouses at Kitoki on Bowen Island. Even if I never go, I had so much fun checking these places out and imagining what it would be like to go there.
The most important aspect of adventure dreaming is realizing that this type of exploration, fantasizing, research—whatever you want to call it—will get you moving toward something New! It will help you learn about something you didn’t know and broaden your horizons. Literally!
The next step is to start moving towards some of these adventures with real purpose. Make a reservation, buy a tent, eat an oyster… whatever it takes. Staying in your normal routine can be fun, particularly if it’s something you truly love, but remember how you discovered that love? Once upon a time, you were doing a bit of adventure dreaming, and you tried something new.
Free Spirit Spheres
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