Balancing the scales: when did I get so boring?

Are you seeking security or adventure?

I guess everything in life should be about balance, but somewhere along the way, my scales have started to lean too far toward the security side… but the good news is, right now, I’m here and seeking to adjust that balance!

As a young adult with no responsibilities, I could be the risk taker, the adventurer. I always liked to take the road less travelled, the routes all my friends wouldn’t take, and the opportunities that lead me to new places. I left home at 16 to pursue a college course in a neighbouring county, and once that was complete, I applied for an apprenticeship in a totally different part of the country. Here I built my career, and eventually grew a family, and it was somewhere in these last few years, as children and mortgages and ‘grown up’ responsibilities came along, that my scales started to tip too far into stability.

Most adults I know are in the stability park, and they are quite happy there. The daily routine, regular income, knowing what’s coming; it’s reassuring, and there is no denying it is peaceful and probably even helps reduce stress too. Whether these people were always like that, or it’s something that sets in as we become adults, I don’t know, but I know very few adults who want adventures. Even when I broach the subject about what I’d love to do, the responses aren’t oh I’d love that too, if only I didn’t have a mortgage/children/unusual shift patterns… it’s usually just yeah, that’s not for me…  I think I’ve been hoping for, waiting for an ally, where our two families could unite, and we’d all go on adventures together! Someone to reassure me that I’m not such a weirdo, haha!

We have friends who are about to up sticks and move their life, their family, at very short notice, to a job and new life on the other side of the world. I’m hugely envious. What an incredible opportunity, what incredible adventures await them! I’ve found them hugely inspirational in my modest attempt to try and see more of Great Britain, yet most people seem to be totally freaked out by such a huge change. They’ve had responses like “but what if things go wrong?” – But what if they don’t? Why do we always assume the unknown is a negative? We will never know if we don’t try these things! I love their mentality over it, the Mum said to us, I was fed up with moaning about things, so I changed them. What a great outlook – and I do find everyone in their stable lives do moan, things aren’t all that perfect, but if you take no action, things won’t change!

I don’t want to become those adults, happy in the status quo. I want more from life, I was always an adventurer, seeking more. Why have I let that change? As a parent, yes, I have responsibilities. I need to ensure I can feed, clothe, and school my children, and keep a roof over their heads. Of course, I can’t take some of the risks I did before children – certainly not without some considerable thought on how I can feed, clothe, school and shelter the children whilst pursuing my choice of actions, but I truly believe you can have both adventure and stability, and I want my children to see that this is possible too, and life isn’t just about growing up and getting boring.