you guys are in for a treat today! when i think of the word “adventurer,” i think of my amazing friend, megan of meganmodderman. she inspires me to slow down & savor life one moment & just pick up & GO the next. i consider it a gift to call her friend.
please welcome megan…
“oh darling, let’s be adventurers.”
we love to quote it, wear it on a t-shirt, hang it on our walls. but are they just nice words? an idyllic idea? something always put off until tomorrow? for me, they aren’t! i’ve made seeking adventure, exploring & memory-making a big priority in my life.
you see, i have always carried around a strong case of wanderlust. i’ve dreamed of african savannah, and the colors of india and tastes of italy since i was a young girl. getting lost in the woods, up on the sand dunes, in a new city sounds fabulous to me. think of all the new things i’d see!
my wanderlust is driven by my endless curiosity. i wonder about differences in geography and societies. i want to soak up other cultures like a sponge. to become a person of depth. to grow by overcoming uneasy or fearful situations. to emerge filled with greater gratitude for LIFE.
want to chase after your wanderlust dreams? start by making it a priority. do instead of dream. set a goal. make a plan. set aside funds. i promise the waiting and the hustle are worth it.
also, seeking adventure doesn’t have to involve hopping on a plane. maybe just plan on exploring someplace new near or far once a year, once a month, and once a week. that big city the next state over. that state park you’ve never been to. that restaurant you’ve been meaning to try.
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image & quote by @dallasclayton
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so, what are you waiting for? go inhabit your life more fully. go soak every last drop out of the 24 hours you’ve been given.
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thanks so much, megan!
follow along on more of megan’s adventures via instagram!
love,
natalie
i am so excited to welcome carrie of 1canoe2 to our adventure series! carrie is such an amazing illustrator, adventurer & friend. i consider it such an honor to have carrie in this space & hope you find her story inspiring! welcome, sweet carrie…
When Natalie asked me to share my thoughts on adventure and what it means to me, I jokingly told her that adventure is my middle name. I might not actually go that far, but it is a word that I use frequently, and something I think about a lot. I try to live a life that is adventurous, in my own way.
For me adventure is about breaking out of routine, seeking new experiences, and not being afraid of jumping into unknown territory. As an artist I have found that it is important. It is necessary. It is the thing that fuels me and my creative process. If there is anything that can kill creativity it is routine and doing the same thing over and over. I need a little adventure to keep me going, and it is something that I am constantly looking for.
I find adventure in something as simple as trying out a new kind of paint or incorporating a different color palette.
I find it in challenging myself to experiment with different media or subject matter. I find it in transitioning from small paintings in my sketchbook to forty foot wide paintings on the side of our barn.
The creative process itself is an adventure. It’s all about starting with an idea and seeing where the process takes you. It’s about dreaming up big ideas and going for it. The outcome is uncertain, which means sometimes it’s a failure. But sometimes it even better than you imagined.
I also find adventure in getting outside and surrounding myself in nature. I gather a lot of inspiration for my work from the world around me, and I love to travel and experience places that are wild and beautiful. I recently spent two weeks camping on a glacier in Alaska where I learned all kinds of mountaineering skills, summited a few peaks, and basically had an ice axe attached to my hand at all times, for safety reasons.
It was a huge Adventure, with a capital A! It was amazing, and I LOVED it. I could go on and on about how valuable of an experience it was, but it is also true that I get just as much from exploring the natural world close to home. Hiking at local state parks, taking a walk down a country road, or fishing in the lake on my family’s farm.
Adventure is essential for me. It’s what drives my creative work, and it leaves me with a sense of wonder about the world that we live in. It’s mostly about breaking from routine, looking for beauty, and going a little bit out of the way to see the world from a different viewpoint than I normally would.
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thanks so much, carrie!
don’t forget to check out carrie’s instagram!
love,
natalie
friends, i am so excited to share with you ashley’s story of adventure! ashley is an inspiring blogger, amazing photographer, incredible teacher & a dear friend. knowing ashley has made me a better person & today it is such a gift to have her in this space! welcome, ashley…
I was 19 and hanging from a tree root over a rushing river in Alaska. Mountains were every direction I looked and I kept telling myself, “Don’t slip. Watch your footing.” It was a wild summer adventure I had only dreamed of experiencing. When I close my eyes and picture that moment, I can still feel the rush of adrenaline mixed with fear. A few years later, I went skydiving. Then it was a one-time trapeze lesson that turned into a month of classes. For my 30th birthday, I sat in the open cockpit of an old war plane and watched the land creep closer as the pilot took me on flips and nose dives in the air. I love adventure.
There was a time that my definition of adventure included huge trips or big moments. Skydiving. Trips overseas. Helicopter rides over islands. Adventures were big moments, not the little ordinary moments that happened everyday. I had to GO on adventures.
And then somewhere along the way, it all changed.
I realized I am ON an adventure. Everyday. Every moment. I can BE on an adventure right where I am today. It boiled down to perspective for me. I could either long for what I once called adventure or I could embrace and see the adventure each day holds. Today my adventure might include baking a pie with my daughter. Tomorrow it might be discovering new worms in the garden or watching my boys figure out how to catapult eachother off the picnic table.
I still relish every chance I get to GO on adventures, but in the meantime I am choosing to search and find the adventure that each day holds.
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thank you so much, ashley!
also, i invite you to check out ashley’s upcoming snapshop class opening this upcoming monday, june 22nd! it’s an introductory online workshop designed to help you capture the everyday in beautiful ways! she offers a class on both dslr & phone photography… you can find more information here.
love,
natalie