To see the world...

This week as I climbed on the treadmill for my last long training run for the Disney Race I started to shuffle through channels on the Tv since running 10 miles meant I had a significant amount of time on the treadmill. After discovering that there is nothing on at 6am on a Saturday. so I figured that I'd watch a movie that I had recorded during our free trial of HBO. When it was out in the theaters I had seen some previews for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty-- and thought I might check it out when it came out to rent. When I pressed play my single greatest hope was that it would entertain me for the course of my run-- it really ending up being a fabulous movie that got me thinking.

The basic premise of the movie is that the title character is a guy who works for LIFE magazine and the magazine is facing layoffs after being taken over as a .com operation. Walter is a guy who has given up on adventure in his real life and his thoughts often drift to these fantastical daydreams of a life of adventure. As the magazine is set to publish its final print issue- Walter is pulled into adventure from his ordinary life when the cover photo that a famous photographer/adventurer has mailed to him goes missing.

I loved the message of the movie because how many of us can relate to the idea of adventure that we often neglect in favor of responsibility. We daydream about what life might be if we went here,or did this, or looked a certain way instead of taking risks and seeking adventure and transforming ourselves into the best person we can possibly be. 

I'll confess-- I am a sucker for responsibility and routine and have often let everyday excuses get in the way of pursuing my goals. The past month and a half has been all about taking risks and trying new things and finding adventure. I'm looking at the world though a filter of possibility instead of one Of obstacles. 

Today I'm on a plane and in the course of the next 48 hours I will have run 19.3 miles using only my own strength,determination, and willpower to do it ( and I'm doing it while wearing wings and a superhero mask). That is an incredible adventure and incredible test of the human spirit and the body's stamina. But if you had asked me about these goals a few years ago I didn't believe I would ever be able to run--- but I sought it out --I looked for adventure. 

Maybe today you have some dream or goal you want to achieve but you are stuck in a daydream hoping for it to happen but not taking action. Make today your adventure. There is no guarantee of success or that the dream won't transform and take a different shape as you pursue it but there is a promise of LIVING life fully and without regret. And you never know.. You might surprise yourself with just how much you accomplish.