What’s the number one thing you can do to live longer, enjoy life more, look younger and meet the love of your life – oh, and actually like yourself better?!
Have adventures in the great outdoors.
Whether it’s rafting the Colorado River, hiking the rainforests in Costa Rica, cycling across the U.S., or searching for the world’s best gelato while wandering the hilltop towns of Tuscany, active travel in the outdoors will add immeasurably to your life in so many ways.
But to have the adventures you’ve always dreamed about you first have to…
GET UP!
Literally.
Go for a hike! I’m totally serious. I guarantee that if you get up off the couch and start hiking trails in your local community or in exotic destinations around the world, that you’ll achieve all the benefits I just listed. Without a doubt!
You might not achieve every single benefit immediately, but you will start seeing positive changes from the moment you take that first step on a path in the great outdoors.
Walking, hiking, and trekking are my favorite activities. But if hiking isn’t your thing, get on your bike and pedal across Iowa, across town or across Europe. Or canoe a local stream, go fly fishing, rock collecting or bird watching, swim across the English Channel or walk from vineyard to vineyard in Provence searching for the world’s best wines. Above all, get out and actively explore this magical planet we live on. Be open to anything and everything.
When you’re out exploring, your senses are more fully engaged. Without the steady hum of city noise, your senses become more attuned to the nuances of Nature. Your ears capture the sound of the wind rustling through trees, frogs singing, and the flap of an eagle’s wings. Your skin senses the soft warmth of the sun. Your nose notes the fragrant incense of balsam fir as you move down a forest trail on a warm, summer day. Your eyes enjoy a multicolored rainbow or the golden hues of a cottonwood in its fall colors. Your heart feels the rhythm of life.
When you’re out exploring, you’re more likely to meet that special someone that makes you smile than if you’re watching TV in your dark living room. And when you do meet the love of your life, or maybe a lifelong friend, because you’ll both be sharing new experiences in beautiful natural surroundings, it’s more likely you’ll build a base of friendship that will last through the years.
When you use your own muscles to move from place to place on your adventures, you’ll build strength, stamina and endurance. You’ll feel better and look better when you look in a mirror or remove your shirt at the beach.
I want to live as long as possible. But I don’t want to live just to have more days. I want to live longer to have more adventures.
What is it about adventure that we crave and that adds so much to our lives? It’s challenge, thrill and risk. It’s testing ourselves against the goals we’ve set for ourselves. It’s reaching that high mountain lake, summiting a peak, running a rapid, or making it up a steep hill on our mountain bike. It’s seeing and experiencing something new, even if we’ve been to the same place before.
We NEED adventure in our lives. We need to test and be tested. We need to wander. We need to try new things, to meet new people, to go new places. Of course, we can do all these things right in our own back yard. It doesn’t matter where we have adventures or how far we go. It just matters that we GET UP and actually do them.
Okay. I’ve just recommended that you head to the great outdoors for amazing and wonderful adventures. I’m sticking with that. But to get the most from each adventure, you have to…
GO WILD!
And Going Wild has two parts.
First, going wild means heading to wild areas, those areas that are open, natural and free from urban reminders. Areas that allow you to experience wild beauty and peaceful moments of quiet where your soul can unwind and reconnect.
Second, going wild means –Going Wild! Letting loose. Remember that we come from wild stock just like the otter, bison, trumpeter swan, eagle or whale. Sing, jump, dance, yell, howl, paw the ground, touch the trees, smell the flowers, dangle your feet in a cold mountain stream, slide down a snowy slope, call back to the geese when they fly overhead, chatter at the squirrel when it scolds you for being in its territory.
In many ways, we’ve become too civilized, too tame, and too doggone house broken. We need to reawaken our deep animal yearnings. Yes. We. Do.
Haven’t you ever wanted to just howl at the moon sometimes? To jump and splash and hoot and holler when you jump in a mountain lake with water a little less than freezing?!
We grew up in the outdoors. It’s our home. When you’re out in the wild, embrace it. Feel it. Celebrate it!
Okay. We got up and we’ve gone wild. We’re traveling the world having incredible adventures. We’re living more fully, becoming stronger and enjoying life more. We’re learning more about ourselves, our planet and other cultures. And it’s these other cultures that bring me to what I think is the next step in our progression. I think we need to…
GIVE BACK
At Walking The World, we’ve been designing and leading small group adventures around the world since 1987. On every trip we can we connect with the local people. We dance with them, visit their homes and schools, prepare and eat meals together, walk the local trails and learn about the local customs, learn their songs and try our hand at soccer with the local kids. It’s our connection with these amazing and giving people that makes our trips as unique and worthwhile as they are. This is true in every case, all over the world.
Yet, when our trips are over, we return home. At the same time, the local people that make our trips unique, often lack the basic amenities in life that we take for granted. Like healthy forests, stoves that don’t give off toxic smoke and schools for children.
I started this article with the following; What’s the number one thing you can do to live longer, enjoy life more, look younger and meet the love of your life – oh, and actually like yourself better?!
Having adventures is great. Having adventures AND giving back to those who make our adventures possible is the best of all.
Giving back to others is as powerful and rewarding as anything we could ever do through travel alone.
We all dream of travel. Studies show that travel is listed as one of the top three goals of older adults. My guess is that travel is something we all dream about.
I want to help you have the adventures you’ve always dreamed about. And I want your adventures to be as safe and enjoyable as possible. At Walking The World we’re always willing and happy to help with any questions you have about travel, our favorite places in the world, and the clothing, gear, and food you’ll need to have safe and amazing adventures in the great outdoors.
In conclusion, GET UP – GO WILD – and GIVE BACK whenever you can.
I look forward to seeing you – soon – on the trails of the world.
Ward Luthi
Walking The World
