How to Find Adventure (Like Walter Mitty)
Adventure is within your grasp. All you have to do is decide in your heart to take that first step into the unknown.
I spent this Christmas in Colorado with my family, near the hip city of Boulder. At our Airbnb, we sat down over the holiday to rewatch one of my favourite movies The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I love this movie because it tells the story of Walter Mitty who is lost in the mundane responsibilities of life. His confidence has been robbed from him due to his past. I connect with Walter because Walter is a dreamer, and like most men, he longs to be revered as dangerous and adventurous.
In the past four years, the Lord has blessed me and allowed me to travel all over the United States. I travel quite a bit, and the question I get asked by folks is how do you afford such endeavours? I’m not a wealthy person, but I budget for traveling. I think the only thing that keeps people from finding adventure is taking the first step out the door. It's having the courage to go somewhere you have never been or do something you have never done.
Adventure is not about where you go or the dollar sign on your travels. It’s about finding the courage to go into the unknown. The only way to grow is to try something new.
One of my favourite scenes in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is when he decides to find the elusive photographer Sean O’Connell. You see the inner turmoil, and then Walter just begins running down the halls of Life Magazine’s office to the music of Arcade Fire’s Wake Up. Walter Mitty finds the courage to do something crazy. Go to Greenland and look for a recluse photographer.
What The Secret Life of Walter Mitty leaves out, is where can one can get courage. People can dig within themselves to find enough resolve not to be paralysed by fear, but true courage comes from God. You can only find your adventure by understanding who God is and how He views you in Christ. When you receive your validation and courage from God, you can walk on water like Peter.
All of us are Walter Mitty to some degree. The story of your life is happening right now. The clock is ticking and every moment counts. Being adventurous does not mean you have to climb Everest or wade streams in Vietnam. You can find adventure in just trying that new restaurant or visiting that state park a few hours away.
Whether the adventure in front of you is talking to a stranger about truth or going and climbing a mountain; I hope you find the courage to go. All you have to do, to change yourself and possibly the world is walk into the unknown, and honestly, that’s what’s Jesus has called us to do. Go find your adventure!