The Paradox of Adventure — is that you only realize it in hindsight

A Different Kind of Adventure

Originally published at http://stephenspeaking.wordpress.com on February 7, 2016.

As winter is nearing its end, I am contemplating the year’s adventures to come and starting to break from the cabin fever that I have been feeling this (and every) winter. It has been years since my last big trip (to Pakistan), and I am suffering from wanderlust badly.

Wagha Border Flag Ceremony — Photo by the Author

In this mind frame, I am having a reality check kind of moment. I pride myself on being adventurous and look forward to many more avenues to pursue to satisfy this wanderlust and to document my travels in space and mind with photography and writing. However, it has occurred to me that I am on a different kind of adventure right now, despite my mental wanderings. Raising a family, working a full-time job, pursuing my arts with zeal, and trying to share them with the world is, in and of itself, all pretty adventurous when I step back and think for a minute.

The winter confinement has gotten me all pent up and ready to run away from everything, feeling like I’m not accomplishing all the things that I want to, not having achieved what I would like to have by this point in my life, and so on. But this has led me to think about the nature of adventure and what that word means to me.

Road to Murree, Pakistan — Photo by the Author

Adventure is a romantic concept.

Everyone says, or at least I imagine they do, that they want adventure in their life. To see beautiful places, try interesting things and meet fascinating people.

Or maybe it’s just me.

But really, when it comes time to do all of these amazing things, most adventures are hard work, expensive, exhausting, and, at times, terrifying experiences. Therein lies the paradox of adventure: one only really realizes that they have had an adventure in hindsight.