I read recently that a Ferrari can go from zero to 60 MPH in 2.8 seconds. I am not a car guy, but that sounds pretty fast. Still, that’s not nearly as fast as going from zero to 60 in life. I turn 60 this year and it feels much quicker than 2.8 seconds. Feels more like a blink, and I cannot help but ask myself – where has the time gone?
Confucius said, “We have two lives, and the second one begins when we realize we only have one.”
I am trying to focus on the second.
It has been a year since I quit my job and sold my house in San Antonio. I loaded my dog Cash into my truck along with a few bags of groceries and headed for Bozeman, Montana.
No plans, no reservations, no specific route, we just headed that way.
For the next 23 days Cash and I lived out of my truck, weaving a tangled route through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Montana and eventually back to Texas. If gas hadn’t been five dollars a gallon, we would have reached the Canadian border.
Nearly 5,000 miles of Spotify, cool air, and long conversations with my dog and my Maker.
We slept in the bed of my truck at rest stops, under the stars in a tent, and occasionally in a cheap motel.
When I saw a mountain lake, we’d swim – when I saw a hiking trail, we’d hike – when I saw a dirt road, we’d take it.
I ate greasy hamburgers, elk jerky, and stopped at every junk store I saw. In the evening, I’d pull off the road, sit in my folding chair and watch the sunset.
In the morning I’d look at Google maps and figure out where to go next. I had no plans, and it was awesome.
I was on “Todd time.”
It was adventure, and I want more of it. Adventure does not mean one must dangle from a cliff on a rope or go on a 23-day truck ride with your dog. Adventure can be a new career, a new relationship, a new city, a new attitude, a new hobby.
I have a friend in who is a lifelong resident of San Antonio. He sought adventure, so he became a River Boat Captain right there in his hometown. Today he shares his love and knowledge of San Antonio with tourists while guiding his boat down the San Antonio River on the Riverwalk.
Whenever you explore an unknown territory, an adventure awaits. It can be as simple as taking a different route home from work or trying a new menu item. Why not give the liver and onions a shot?
I started officiating high school basketball games last year. Without question, that was an adventure!
When I played baseball at Texas Tech, I shared a dorm room with a guy from California. He was going through a hitting slump and was desperately trying to break out of it. Walking into our room, I heard the sound of liquid being sucked through a straw coming from the closet. I opened the door, and he was sitting on a pile of dirty clothes eating his lunch.
He looked up and said, “Dude, I am hitting so bad, I just gotta‘ do something to break the routine.“
I don’t know if it worked or not, but he did start hitting the baseball again.
Nothing breaks the routine of life better than adventure. Just doing something different, be it big or small.
Adventure awakens the soul. Maybe it won’t go as planned, but then again maybe seeing if it does will be the best adventure of all.
***
Todd Howey is a columnist for BrownwoodNews.com whose articles appear on Fridays. Email comments to [email protected].
