Adventure. Isn’t that an exciting word? Wouldn’t we all want a little bit more of it in our lives? Wouldn’t we want to invite it to be present in our histories?

Adventure is just another word for change. Adventure is ever present, and we cannot escape it, although some times we might want to. Let’s face it: we don’t always want to change.

Sometimes it might be because we are truly happy and content and we’d love to keep things as they are. In other occasions, we might fear changing because it means stepping into the unknown, it means leaving things behind. And it is hard to leave the past behind, because we know it’s not possible, or because we feel very comfortable in it, or at least not uncomfortable enough to do something about it.

Change is not always wanted, it might not seem necessary, but it is inevitable. And I think that looking at it as an Adventure rather than as an inevitable, cruel twist of fate (literally), can help us approach it with a more accepting, optimistic attitude which will helps us to extract the best of it.

Of course, it is natural that we are afraid of changes. They only emphasise one of the universal facts of life, namely that nothing lasts forever. And while this can be positive when we think about the terrible circumstances of our lives, and even in these circumstances in many cases, we tend to feel at home even when we’re suffering, and we think that suffering is at least safe, that we know how to navigate it and handle ourselves in it.

But we need to know that this is a small stagnant pool of water we are navigating in, that will never be able to let us grow, that will oppress us until we get so big we will be able to barely move, no oxygen, no freedom.

And you have to ask yourself if this fear of adventure, of change, of movement will not end up killing your soul. What if the pond next to this, the one you are so afraid to move to is bigger, fresher, just what you need? What if this change, the one you dread so much is going to be the beginning of the life you have been waiting for, the life you want, the one you deserve?

Of course changes will not always have the flavour of adventure. What about when we lose someone we love? What about when a stage in our lives is over, like when our youth is gone? What about death, or illness or disaster?

As I said before, in spite of how we see it, change is inevitable. Things are going to change, always. Whether we like it or not. Whether we ask for change or we hide from it. But if we know this, change will not take us by surprise, we can prevent ourselves, at least most of the times, and we can know that things will eventually move, we will be able to move with them.

When change is hard, painful, unexpected, it is important that we give ourselves the chance to grieve, to acknowledge the severity of our loss. It is important to dwell on it for a while, because we need to process it, to understand it, to make our peace with it. But then, it is time to stand up and move on. Because this pain, this sadness, this longing, will have made us grow, even if we didn’t notice it, or wanted it. It’s just a part of life. Eventually you will need to stand up, dust yourself and follow your path, in the knowledge that your loss made you stronger and perhaps gave you a greater reason to move along.

And if change is something you welcome, you will realise that it is one of the greatest opportunities in life, truly an awesome adventure. It will show you and others how strong, how powerful, how resilient you are. It will sometimes open your eyes to what was not working before in your life, and in shedding over it a new light, you will be able to transform it, because you are now able to see it for what it is.

If you prepare for change it can really become an adventure, if you welcome it into your life, you will grow, you will expand and you will be strong, to fly high and free, in the clouds, near the sun, where you should be.