Thoughts and feeling

Has it really been that long ?

Excuses, excuses,excuses

Have you missed us ?

Wondering what we’ve been up to ?

But really all I’ve done is made excuses of why to not carry on blogging,

Slipping back into a 9 to 5 rut has been avoided, a pressure free job has been a blessing, but that said if your looking for a reason to stay in tonight, or to pass up on a potential adventure? Easy.

I can give you 10 without pausing for breath.

No time, no money, no plans, tired, work, washing to do, headache, need to chill , cooking dinner, lunches to pack for work tomorrow…

Come on that list is endless…..

I bet some small part of you thinks that people like me don’t think this way; that we don’t think of excuses. But check out our About Me page. We’re more like you and you’d ever know !

Ever read about some super duper go getter explaining the latest positive thinking plan and found yourself thinking “That’s all well and good for him”, assuming he is part machine and is perpetually motivated?

Surely he doesn’t face the same mental battles that you do? Of course he does. He wakes up some mornings and just doesn’t feel like getting on it.

The difference? He wants it more than the average person, so is willing to recognise those thoughts, put them in a box, and do the best thing anyway. He prioritises, according to what he thinks is most important. We already know what you think is important, because you’re reading this page.

Our lifestyle choices are the same. We know that we need adventures, challenges, time to explore and discover, yet it’s easy to prioritise how we feel at any given time over making that little bit of effort to do what we know is ultimately good for us.

So how about the full-time explorer… no longer in a regular career, being paid good money through sponsorship and other avenues to fund a lifestyle of adventures and travel? They’ve got it sorted, right? Should we be aiming for that, too?

There’s a temptation to think that if we’re not operating at that level, which I’m sure we’re not, our meagre attempts at adventure are insignificant. Pointless, so why bother? But that’s just another excuse.

So after 8 months of our happy medium we’re back to clog up your email,Facebook and twitter feeds with our new adventures….

I’m lucky enough to have some inspirational friends, people who makes those decisions daily weekly, monthly. Year on year.

People who have a knack of turning even the most mundane day into a special event. People who see the pressures of everyday life, such as work, children, family and busyness as opportunities.

Life pressures can be seen as a reason to put personal adventures aside, and yet they present the perfect opportunity to create new memories and instil a sense of exploration and wonder at any age.

Just remember, Little adventures become big adventures very quickly.

Mixed in with our working week( more of that to come) we have made time for us …

No big travel adventures over the last few months but many of my favourites have been micro-adventures, many close to home, resulting in some of the best memories.

To encourage you to keep making those decisions, every day, every week, every month, I’ve listed my Top Tips for adventures that require minimal planning:

1. Cycling with a picnic, who needs anything more than open countryside and the wind in your hair

2.Get a local OS Map and plan a route to the next nearest town or village using only public footpaths – OS paper maps are just somehow romantic…..

3.Sign up for an event, look for something you’ve never done before, next year I’m going to run my first road race .. eeek

4.Wake up early, climb to the highest spot around and watch the sunset.- easy when you have the magical Glastonbury Tor on your door step.

5. Do something for the first time. A personal favourite of mine – you don’t know until you try.

6.Sign up for an online challenge. I’ve currently signed up to run 50k this month. A goal that gives me a focus and a challenge – much needed when you can always find an excuse, especially for not exercising

7.Go to the beach and skim some stones, sometimes it the simple things that reset the mind

8. How many sunsets can you watch this month? If you can find an excuse not to watch it at least 10 times, maybe your priorities need adjusting. Reflect on how you spent your day…

So there you have it, we’re back and are just about to start planning our next adventure, all be it a little shorter than the last one.

So onward as we climb that invisible hump in the road and push forward, so though this time is just an extended holiday (3 months) we still have to say goodbye to family and friends, pack the motorhome and check and recheck we have everything we need.

7 weeks and counting

Paul and Shell

One thought on “Has it really been that long ?

  • Lyn and Steve Evans

    Hope you have lovely time x

    Reply

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