Planting Seeds on that Rocky Road to Adventure

I'm still thinking about the road to adventure... it's a road, not a destination... it's a rocky road... not like the ice cream... come on, join me in the Association game! (love it)

Quite a rocky road indeed... Photo source

And on this rocky road, there are disappointments-- no getting around it-- hence the support system (mine embodied by the teacup symbol) and also the need for a system or structure to mitigate the ups and downs.

Another quote that recently piqued my interest as it made the rounds of my twitter-verse actually made me mad when I first read it (totally because of my mindset/ attitude at the time), and it also gets at the need for such a structure:

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant." -Robert Louis Stevenson

What made me angry was that I was feeling particularly used up at that moment, without any more seeds to plant (seeds being creative energy/ motivation in this metaphor), and wishing awfully for some trees to start dropping some fruit my way. 

Someone else mentioned in response (love the twitter-verse for that) that you don't want to dip into your seed corn (seed corn here meaning your inner reserves, what you count on for next year's 'food supply' of work) when planting, to which I gave a hearty "Hear, hear!" If you did, there would be nothing left, which means it's unsustainable.

Photo Source

So what qualify as seeds for planting? How do you set up such a system, so that you can weather the ups and downs of life? Try these activities, one of which usually gives me a jump-start back into happy productivity:


Planning / Strategizing: this means establishing and mapping out goals, then backtracking (a la Barbara Sher) the necessary steps to come up with...


Baby steps! These are the little seeds of progress toward the goal you've established: writing an article each week, calling the blog-hosting company for details, asking for a reference, etc. After a lot of these, you've earned...


Breaks from the plodding pace of baby steps that replenish your creative core: attending a writing conference, having a dinner out with friends, and meditating are all fine examples of activities that will, for different types of people, refuel their energy (search for Myers-Briggs introvert vs. extrovert descriptions if you're curious about this). After a bout of this, you'll be ready to return to...


All that background noise. This includes those unpleasant tasks that never seem to make it to the top of your to-do list: decluttering, going to the bank to start that retirement account, asking for help, maybe it's cleaning your bathroom. It's different for everyone, but it's a sure thing that there is some thing hanging over your head like a personal raincloud. Do it. You'll feel better.


And if none of those work, maybe you just need to turn your brain off.

And another Tea for the Road

I came across a wonderful quote today:

"The fragrance of adventure and poetry endlessly pervades each cup of tea."

Henri Mariage, Mariage Freres Tea

I've written before about the power of tea, but then it was about creating space and allowing mindfulness. This quote sets us on a different path toward tea: that of adventure.

What's so swashbuckling about a cup of tea, you say?

If tea makes you think of an afternoon feasting of cucumber sandwiches amid older ladies in the British Empire, I quite see your point.

But.

I came across this quote in an old issue of Saveur (July 2003), because I've been on another magazine decluttering kick recently. It may have something to do with the fact that my rent was just raised and I'm thinking of moving again... at any rate, I've been able to keep a feeling of accomplishment going recently, through completing various activities: emails, meetings, meals, purchases, purges. From these past couple weeks:

Discovery #1: Accomplishment is not synonymous with adventure, but because these activities, these efforts at simplifying, are in general aimed at achieving a greater goal, something of the majesty of that goal is injected into each baby step of a task.

Discovery #2: Accomplishment can never take the place of adventure, if you've got that kind of spirit, because if the activities do not get you closer to an ultimate goal, they quickly become empty, joyless actions.

Source: fitsp0.tumblr.com via Margaret on Pinterest

I see my cups of tea shared with friends as my own personal Board Meetings, the purpose of which is to keep me focused on the greater adventure, that is, ultimately, a Life Well-Lived.

Tea, or my support system, symbolizes the Road to Adventure, the road that I am on now to create my own lifestyle. It's this support system that will keep me- and you!- on the right road. Discovery #1 may not hold up all the time, but for right now, I'm enjoying feeling like I'm making progress!

So bartender, if you please, it's one for my baby , another tea for that road!


What keeps you focused on your greater goal, your 'bigger picture?'

Are you racking up accomplishments but wondering where the adventure went?

How can Taste Life Twice help get more adventure into your life?

Vision Collage Party

It was a lovely party.



Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos.

I was able to do the beans beforehand (see left for soaking additives), and season and start the pork beforehand (see below for spices), but the food, and the dishes, and the art supplies, and the people, and getting the door, ... I didn't get to take any photos. My friend Juan did, but I don't know if he'll share them...

The party theme was creating your own Vision Collage. I borrowed the idea from Melia, whose blog is basically a documented case of Realizing One's Vision- an amazing journey, and now preparing for a new phase (sidenote: yay!).

annatto, coriander, 5-spice, cinnamon, cayenne, pepper, salt, cilantro, chili

The idea is this: set aside some time for thinking about what you want from this year. [It's February, so I got a late start, but that's not important- any chunk of manageable time is fine.] Get a bunch of arts and crafts supplies, some food for sustenance, drinks for those who need that kind of sustenance, and gab or reflect, whichever you prefer, while the group steadily goes through dozens of magazines, looking for words, colors,  images that catch their eye, draw their attention, and speak to them in some way. Cut these out. Get a god pile going. When you come to a natural break (did somebody say 'dessert'?), look at your pile and see if if there is a theme, an overarching focus that your sub-conscious mind is handing to you. Stick it on the base-paper (after dessert, of course) however it strikes your fancy. If you're comfortable with the people at your party, share what you think it means, and what you will do about it. Proceed through the year, and who knows, maybe you'll collect $200?

 

Oh, and the menu this time? Pork shoulder with spices (above), bean-tomato stew (above, sort of taken from this recipe), baked sweet potatoes, asian-spiced bok choy, green salad. Dessert and wine were brought by guests, which resulted in a euphoric state of cupcakitude! And brownies, and pound cake, and pie... a sweet ending.