Every once in a while, it’s time for ADVENTURE!
Our primal instincts tell us to seek safety and security. But what about venturing out of our comfort zone with a little bit of adventure?
PrimalMed recently got on that big ol’ jet airliner and went on an adventure to Iceland.
So HOW does seeking adventure fit into one’s PrimalMed Prescription?
Let’s review:
A few posts ago, we talked about being “PrimalMed approved.” It means slightly different things for different folks with regard to diet and lifestyle choices etc. The underlying and unifying theme however, is that each and every one of us needs to take hold of your own “spear”, your own tool, that pays heed to our ancestral roots and primitive needs and integrates it in to our modern lifestyle.
Are we too comfortable? Is personal growth achieved by staying under the covers or is it by waking up, splashing some cold water on your face, having your coffee and getting off your keister?
“We are living progressively sheltered, sterile, temperature-controlled, overfed, underchallenged, safety-netted lives.”
― Michael Easter, The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self.
Interesting read and highly recommended. We crave warmth, comfort and a life of ease but I submit that occasionally seeking what I call ‘productive discomfort’ is PrimalMed approved!
Even Marcus Aurelius, my favourite stoic philosopher opines:
Embracing adventure and stepping out of your comfort zone, occasionally and within reason, might just BE the antidote to the winter blues that are on the horizon.
Which brings us back to Yoda and the Yoda Cave. Yoda had some wise words for sure, and this quote speaks the growth mindset (embracing challenges as the path to mastery), that is a key component of the PrimalMed Prescription.
“Do or do not. There is no try.”
Are you doing? Or just trying? Are you ‘getting shit done’ or just watching the world and complaining? Given the craziness in the world the last few years and in particular the last month, it is not unreasonable to take a pause, recalibrate, and consider OUR place in the world, and consider our purpose. Are you contributing to the big picture, or content to stay under the covers in your own comfort crisis?
The trip to Iceland WAS a much needed adventure. A much needed splash of cold water in the face, for me at least, to step out of MY comfort zone and embrace a new challenge.
I must admit that when we first arrived in Iceland, it was wet and cold and windy. I questioned my sanity! When our guide took us out to the rocky lava fields and beaches and showed us the Yoda Cave with not a soul around, it was in some strange way, uplifting, and rejuvenating! We climbed on those rocks and awakened our Primal energies. As the wind and drizzle whipped in my face, and I stood on that rock, a sudden calm descended upon me.
AND… most importantly, no one fell! (I took to the small rock. PrimalMed Jr took the tall one. He bounces back a bit quicker than me).
So here’s the cave from the outside, part of our hike that day.
:
Todays TL;DR is to DO. Not just try, but to DO!
Make the plans. Take the trip. Make that call! Commit to a new challenge this winter. THAT is the spirit and mindset that awakens your Primal instincts. To be ALIVE.
What are you DOING?
So readers…leave some COMMENTS! I know one reader who has planned a trip to Patagonia this winter. Another reader has committed to a half marathon in January to raise awareness and support for Autism research. One reader has taken on the challenge of teaching law students at his Alma Mater while yet another reader has doubled her efforts to raise awareness to the worldwide resurgence of anti-semitism that, like a dormant volcano, has recently erupted.
Keep Calm and PrimalMed On!
i concur all around, and what a great trip!
This is a coincidence. After reading your article, I happened to watch a movie on Netflix called.Nyad. This is about a 64 year old swimmer, who swam from Cuba to Key West, an unimaginable distance and challenge. It’s not that we could do such challenging things, but it shows that perhaps we can take little steps to get out of our comfort zone and have an adventure. It’s good to be reminded that perhaps there is more that we can do.