Brian’s Reflection: Thursday, July 24, 2008


Adventure is worthwhile in itself.

- Amelia Earhart, adventurer,
born on this day, 1898


In fact, it’s what any kind of sensible Life is all about! “Adventure” always sounds a little wild and crazy, done by weirdoes or people a little off their heads. Not something sensible, down to earth, responsible people do. And it helps if you have money. But if you look at the etymology of the word, adventure is just mundane, a normal characteristic of being alive.

The root of the word is from the Latin ad + venire, meaning “to come to”. In other words, adventure is a matter of the heart and mind and spirit. An attitude about Life. It’s part of being fully alive. Life is one great and glorious Mystery, a Mystery which any good religion and religious practice will invite you to and open you up to. Sometimes we may go after “It”. Sometimes we will just stay still and open our whole being to “It”. In my view, the principal purpose and goal of education (again, from the Latin, to lead to or out from) is to prepare us for adventure.

Any good education, secular or theological, will teach us how to pay attention, how not to fear, how to desire, how to surrender, how to reach, how to expect. It’s all in the approach. All “good” fiction and all “good” poetry (including Scripture) trains us to be an adventurer.

May you come to at least one new revelation today - a person, a place, an idea, a wonder.

Brian+