Yesterday was not a banner day. In fact, it was kind of the poster child for miserableness. Since I pretty much felt like a piece of mangled gum that one scrapes off the bottom of a shoe, I declared the day an official sick day and spent it daydreaming whilst snuggled deeply in blankets. I loaded up my bed fort with the necessities; a pile of October reading, fuzzy bat socks, a stuffed ghost, October oriented DVD’s, spooky music, and a pumpkin cupcake scented candle. (The candle was on the dresser across the room. I may be sick, but I’m not crazy. Candles in bed + me = disaster).
While I was holed up in my makeshift October fort, I had plenty of time to think about what I would rather be doing. All the best stories in October have to do with adventure. There is no scary movie where the main character sits sedately by and chats about income tax. If they did, they would promptly get eaten. It’s only fair. October is about taking chances and doing something out of the ordinary. October is the time to take the road less traveled and see where it leads, to wander off into the fog for the fun of it. In October my sense of wanderlust reaches almost unbearable heights. I want to roam through the dark forest. I want to drive on the back roads of New England and see the changing leaves. I want to dig for buried treasure or at least find a mummified pirate. I want to get a package in the mail that only has a key in it with a note attached that says, find the door/box/lock that this key opens. I want to visit ghost towns and cemeteries. I want to walk through a corn field at midnight. I want twelve dwarves to show up at my door begging me to go on a quest to steal gold from a dragon. October kinda makes me a bit crazy, but in the best possible way.
While I was reading about adventures in my sickened state, I came across this passage; "No victory is ever achieved without first making the decision to leave home. Each step that you’ve taken, each foe that you’ve overcome, each hardship that you’ve endured, has led you here, now, to this moment." That is so true. You can’t have an adventure without first stepping foot outside your own door, or your comfort zone. You have to actively decide to go. I think that is why I fell in love with Lord of the Rings. When Bilbo leaves the Shire after his milestone birthday party, he sings this song. "The Road goes ever on and on down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, and I must follow, if I can, pursuing it with eager feet, until it joins some larger way where many paths and errands meet. And whither then? I cannot say." I love the idea of just setting off one day and following the road. There are so many choices to make. Left or right. Up or down. North, South, East or West. Paved roads or little used ones. Not only does Bilbo go, but he goes eagerly. He has already lived a good long life, but he is not done with adventure quite yet.
When I was in Jr. High, we read a book called Cry the Beloved Country. It has the best opening of any book I have ever read and that counts the ones that start by saying, "It was a dark and stormy night." The book begins, "There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it." It still gives me chills all these years later and pulls me right into the story. There are so many questions to be asked in those first two sentences. What exactly does a lovely road look like? In October context, is it lined with trees whose leaves are all shades of fall colors? Is there a babbling brook nearby or a quaint stone bridge. Does lovely mean that the road winds or is free of rocks and smooth? And how lovely must those hills be if their beauty cannot even be captured in song. I want to see those hills. I want to try and describe their loveliness. What a grand adventure that would be.
So this is my challenge to you this October. Find your road. Go in search of an adventure. Maybe it is something simple like turning off the GPS when you leave home and flipping a coin each time you come to an intersection. Perhaps you order a new food, go to a different part of town, or finally talk to that mysterious stranger. Whatever adventure looks like to you, DO IT! Then be sure to tell me all about it.
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