Life is an adventure, are you brave enough to live it?

Life is an adventure.

For me it is always about the journey - sometimes as well as the destination, but never the destinations alone.
Like any moving goal, whenever you think you are there, another doorway opens. New friends are met, a new path emerges and you have the choice to stay put or begin the next adventure.

Often the difference between a great journey and a nightmare travel experience is the sense of humor behind the personality.

Many a night I have laid awake in some dingy bed bug infested hell hole cackling away laughing with a travel buddy over the misfortunes that have befallen us previously that day.

Not only travel, but in life, many a time, a good sense of humor and viewing life from a different angle can be the difference between falling apart and a great story to tell.

I am often told how wonderful my life must be, how many great experiences I have and it is true. I am blessed with great adventures, yet I have certainly seen the darkness too. There have certainly been some "down the well" moments on my life journey. My thoughts are to not dismiss, nor ignore the dark moments, but to laugh about them, see the funny side of them and when all else fails, know that perhaps in 10 years they won't seem so bad. I imagine I am now 10 years into the future and set about to see what amazing adventures await today. If there's none showing, I set about to create a journey and fill it with adventures along the way.

I have traveled many parts of the world, been privileged to have seen and been part of some miraculous events and delight in sharing with groups of people on journeys all over the world.
My children are home schooled, for a number of reasons, which were well thought out and all aspects considered deeply in making this choice. Their lives are filled with adventures, experiences and gret socialising opportunities. We have a sticker on the back of our RV which states "Homeschooling, the world is our classroom". Mostly people drive past and give us the 'thumbs up' and when we stop, they say how lucky the children are to have such rich experiences.

All adventures become learning experiences. If you recall how much school geography you remember compared to how much you remember by visiting those countries the scales begin to tip. When we realised we were spending $25K per child per year in private school (public schooling was not a possible option for 1 child for many reasons, which left us with very limited options), we decided we could use that money for education, training, travel and great experiences. We have never looked back (except for the few moments when Mummy or Daddy has to 'just go walkabout for a little while' to come back happy again, some times Mummy comes back with 'gorgeously fluffy hair' from pulling most of it out for a bit and just a little bit of a sore throat from screaming at the wind) and we still count home schooling as one of our favourite adventures.

I am a firm believer things happen for a reason, even if the reason is not apparent right now.

God, spirit, the universe, what ever belief works for you (insert appropriate name or tag here, I'll use God, but you can call it as you wish), is filled with humor. Life is not meant to be taken so seriously, I personally resonate with Tibets version of success being measured by gross national happiness. Look around, laugh at your misfortunes, giggle at the disasters and chortle at the nightmares. It may not change them, but you'll certainly feel slightly better about them, if you can find something to smile about.

I always tell people traveling with us (especially to 3rd world countries), keep an open mind and heart, be flexible, things will not always go to plan, you will have a much better journey if no matter what happens you can simply 'go with the flow' and above all else, to remember, if everything goes perfectly to plan, you will have no stories to tell.