THERE comes a time in everybody's life when a new path appears before our sight. We have not walked there before, have not seen it before but it looked inviting.
This happened to me many years ago, and the same feeling re-emerges at regular periods in my life. The first time it happened was when I was faced with the prospect of travelling more than a hundred miles on my little Honda motorcycle to another State.
For someone who hadn't experienced this kind of adventure before, it was rather daunting. The thought of the morning cold, the unexpected heavy highway traffic and other imagined problems splashed cold water on my sense of adventure.
But soon financial limitations forced me to make the decision to travel down the road not travelled. It began with a bit of trepidation and ended with an overwhelming sense of exhiliration.
I felt great. It was mission accomplished. I was so proud of myself. If it had been Mt Everest, I would have got the same feeling. When a guy is in his 20s, little things seem big, and big things almost insurmountable.
I am glad I had travelled down that road. Recently, a similar challenge presented itself. I was once again faced with the prospect of making a long journey, to an uncharted territory (at least to me). It involved a 10-hour journey with a possible back-breaking drive across the country and then back via another route.
This time, my family was with me. The journey began with high expectations. We were not disappointed. The fun that came almost unexpectedly added to the value of the experience. During that exploration and expedition, all of us learnt so much, especially me.
I found out that I am much tougher and stronger than I had thought. In the learning process, I had a lot of fun. I have since discovered that to make something which is seemingly difficult, one has to inject fun into it. Once there's a momentum, it is much like cycling. The movement just carries you with it.
These days, whenever I see a route I have not taken or a town I have not visited, I just go down that road of new experience. More often than not, new discoveries await me at every turn and corner. Life's like that. When you least expect it, strangers and new vistas spring more than a handful of delightful surprises.
Sometimes, we see a stranger. The initial reaction is to avoid eye contact. But what if we maintain that eye contact a little longer. I have tried that and on more than a few occasions, the other person smiles. Communication is established and a rapport developed.
I have met a number of strangers in my journey of life and became fast friends with these people. These are the things in life that are free. They serve as tutorials for us to relearn the art of living. Strangers will soon cease to be strangers. Places become fascinating and Mother Nature always serves her best desserts to new visitors passing her way.
I am glad I have made up my mind a long time ago to travel the unexplored path, do the untried, and taste the unknown. This sense of adventure gives life an edge. In a way, it develops character. It satisfies curiosity. It makes you want to get up and go.
There's more than what has already happened in your office which you entered and exit for years. There are worlds upon worlds waiting for that intrepid stranger. These are the challenges that have found few brave souls and even fewer takers.
Don't you want to taste the nectar of life? Won't you want to wander further than your own backyard? Do you not want to push the envelope and stretch your personal limits as far as your imagination can take you?
Life isn't life until you have "broken the rules". Next time, when you look at the night sky, do not seek out the twinkling stars, look for meteorites, shooting stars and UFOs!
Why look for the ordinary and the expected? Seek instead the new, the unexplored and the unknown. Go beyond the outer limits and see that life promises so much more. And in finding the new, you yourself are renewed.
When you are lost in somewhere over the new horizon, you will find yourself stretching your mind, imagination, experience and visions further than you can ever imagine possible only days ago before you experience all that.
Grab life by its jugular and hang on for your dear life for the greatest ride of your life.
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