Art and Adventure.

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As I’m writing an outline for a script I’m drifting off and thinking about adventure. It’s underrated.

On a personal writing level I like to put a relatable individual in a highly unlikely situation and thrust him/her off into some form of an adventure. More times than not it’s usually a very exaggerated situation. But it always comes back to the adventure. Part of me thinks that most writers kind of follow this idea, especially if you’ve ever read Joseph Campbell.

However, the great thing about adventure is that it doesn’t have to be something exaggerated and I think people forget that. Adventures can be small and contained. They can be a night. They can be a drive. They can be quick. They can be a day. If you learn something new from an experience and it takes you mentally to some place you’ve never been then I’d chalk that up to an (mini) adventure.

The great thing about adventure is that it feeds into what’s amazing about life. The majority of us live pretty standard lives in the sense that we know how our days are going to unfold – coffee, work, work, work, home, dinner, TV, internet, sleep - Rise, lather, repeat. But adventure changes that. Adventure allows our brains to respond to something it doesn’t expect - it keeps us fresh.

I like to think that our minds and bodies need new experiences to keep us new and young. Adventure offers us that. AND I’m not even touching on the amazing stories created, new people we meet, and many regrets we secrets don’t regret that adventure offers. Underrated right?

BUT… As amazing as small adventures are how great are the ones where you take a monumental trip to Italy, sleep with a foreign diplomat and find yourself in the middle of a terrorist plot.

Adventure.

Being Grateful?

I had an interesting conversation with a friend, he was talking about someone he knew who passed away (I swear this is the most depressing it gets) and we were talking about the time and how fast it goes by. We were wrapping up the conversation and I made a comment, something along the lines of --

“Be grateful for what we have, be careful not to take things for granted.”

Annnnd then the can of worms opened up. I should also note that I have my own issues in life, it’s not like I’m the guy who tells people how to life. This conversation was with a buddy, not some random guy.

After my comment our conversation went a little something like this:

Him: “You know what dude, I am grateful, and I don’t really take things for granted, but how does somebody stay aware of not taking things for granted?”

I kind of thought about it for a bit and then I thought about it even longer until he jumped back in --

Him: “Honestly, I know I’m lucky to have an active mind, working legs, and working arms. I don’t get sick, I’ve been fortunate with my health. But how the fuck do I show that? How do you do something more than just remind yourself?”

I was about to answer until he said --

Him: “How do you not take things for granted? I mean listen, I wish I could travel the world and see amazing things so I don’t waste life, but how can I do that with no money?”

He then proceeded to say he’s just blurting out thoughts and that he really is appreciative, he was trying to justify what he said, but I basically blacked out because my friend had a very good point. I was busy trying to find an answer and a proper segway into more conversation but it wasn’t happening. We said our goodbyes but I’m still thinking about it.

How do you stay grateful? And how do you maximize life if you don’t have a lot of money but the things you love cost money? Listen, I know you can do fun things in life without money, and you can be happy as shit doing them, but you get what I’m saying, right?

I haven’t come to a conclusion on this conversation but I really wish I could. Do we need people to constantly tell you “hey, you’re doing a great job!” - we shouldn’t. But, it still feels good when people say that, and I wish I knew how to bottle that feeling. I wish I knew how to contain the feeling of total happiness. A few weeks ago after the Boston tragedy I was just happy to be alive. I had total appreciation for everything around me but truthfully; I may have lost that feeling of appreciation. I wish I didn’t lose that feeling. I hate that terrible things have to happen in the world for people to be reminded of how awesome it is to be alive.

I’m currently sitting in an office looking at a palm tree on a 70-degree day in Los Angeles. Let me say that one more fucking time so it can maybe stick to my head, I’m currently sitting in an office looking at a palm tree on a 70-degree day in Los Angeles. How could anyone take this for granted?

I have some thinking to do…