Recently I was catching up with a friend who lives in a small town in Washington State and the conversation turned to the concept of adventure.

“I always thought adventure meant going to a third world country and surviving,” she told me.

In that moment I realized just how personal the concept of adventure is. Friends in Boulder, Colorado will tell me that unless they are climbing “a 14-er” they aren’t really having an adventure. Meanwhile at home in St. Augustine, I have Level 1 improv students who believe that stepping into the classroom in an adventure every week.

Francesa & I ready for a snowy adventure!

So what is adventure?

According to the Oxford Dictionary, adventure is “an unusual and exciting or daring experience.”

Aha! So an adventure really is a personal experience. What’s unusual or exciting or daring for me may not be the same for you. And that’s why all of us need to find our own adventures, as they don’t always have to involve expensive gear — or bugs!

Spring into Happy Retreaters smile in front of the Stanley Hotel after having completed the hedge maze – a homage to the film, The Shining, based on Stephen King’s own adventure at the hotel.

Recently a group of ten people came together in the Colorado foothills to have an adventure around happiness. The Spring into Happy Retreat, hosted by The Adventure Project and Breakthrough Play, was an intimate space to disconnect from technology and connect with ourselves and others through cooperative play, laughter and nature. For one long weekend, retreat participants took turns having adventures because even within the context of a three-night retreat, different activities were unusual and exciting for different people. For some it was drawing. For others it was sharing vulnerability. And for others it was disconnecting from digital devices.

That’s the beauty of adventures – we can find them everywhere, and, they’re so much more rewarding when we have a group of people with us who have our backs.

So what’s on your adventure wish list? And who will you bring with you to cheer you on? Keep me posted!

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