" I F  Y O U  F O R C E
Y O U R S E L F  T O
 S T R E T C H
A  L I T T L E ,
Y O U  W I L L
A S T O N I S H
Y O U R S E L F."
Twyla Tharp

" G O  O N  W O R K I N G
F R E E L Y  A N D
F U R I O U S L Y
A N D  Y O U  W I L L
M A K E  P R O G R E S S."
Paul Gauguin

" I F  I  L I V E  M Y  L I F E
L I K E  I  P L A Y  M Y  D R U M ,
I  W O U L D N ' T   H A V E
A N Y  P R O B L E M S ."
Tony Williams

At a recent family gathering my daughter-in-law, Cindy Dunnigan, asked me if I thought of myself as adventurous. My initial response was no. I am not inclined to risk-taking. I am not interested in extreme sports of any kind and I don't fancy holidays that are high on the discomfort scale.

I could easily come up with a long list of descriptors that rolled more naturally off my tongue than adventurous. I think of myself as thoughtful, responsible, intelligent, caring, creative and generous. Until recently I had never considered adventuresome.

I recounted that conversation to my friend Denise Hynd. She had a different perspective. Denise pointed out that Gary and I do many adventurous things although they are not dangerous. For example we both retired from our careers in order to pursue our passion for personal learning. We coach and teach in interesting circumstances. We have this wonderful website. We write. I am an artist.

We started thinking about adventure as any movement away from the familiar and comfortable into new experiences. Suddenly, we were saying to clients, "how adventuresome are you willing to be?" We noticed that they were taken aback by the question. They had apparently not thought of themselves as being potentially adventuresome people from that point of view. Unless people actually define themselves as active adventure seekers, they do not see making slightly different choices in life as being adventuresome.

At the class I taught at Quilt Canada I asked my students to be adventuresome. Instead of the typical sewing class, we challenged ourselves to play and to think outside the box. We played games, drew, and wrote poetry. We experienced the discomfort of doing those "out of the ordinary" activities.

I began thinking about working on "Inside the Dress" as a great adventure. Several months ago I was blocked and fearful but I shifted my attitude and my focus. I am no longer as invested in the outcome and I am more engaged in the exciting process of exploration and play. The adventure is apparent with each new discovery. What I notice is that I ask myself different questions and I amaze myself with my answers.

Thanks to Cindy's question I have begun to redefine myself as adventuresome. What you done recently or what might you choose to do now that you might define as being adventuresome?