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| La Jolla, California (photo by Flickr: Trish Dinwiddie) |
Let's be clear, right off the bat. I didn't do it.
Yes, I found a Spirit Airlines flight departing Baltimore at 5:30pm for San Diego and a returning one arriving back in Baltimore 36 hours later. Each segment $300. Yes, I looked at rental car deals and thought about airport parking and considered baggage charges. Yes, I thought about what to pack and drive-time to the airport and all that.
And I thought about the downside.
$1000 is a lot to spend for a one-day vacation.
Ten hours round-trip is a lot of travel for a one-day vacation.
I could spend that time more productively at home.
And I considered the upside.
I could see my son Ben, who is spending a week in La Jolla before his next obligation back East.
It's a prime opportunity to visit California, how many of those does life offer?
The burritos are superior.
There is an opportunity for adventure.
And that last one my friends, is the key. There is an opportunity for adventure. You might be blessed with a life which provides frequent opportunity for adventure. I, and I believe most, are not. We are accustomed to a life of sameness. We wake up, shower, eat raisin bran, go to work, come home, navigate children's schedules, work at some houshold chore, consider some evening diversion, sleep, and then repeat. An opportunity for adventure is like a gift offered. Or an invitation offered. Or sage advice offered. I confess I have refused all of these. Not always, but mostly, and certainly in this case. And let's be clear. An opportunity for adventure is a disruptor to the sameness pattern. A disruptor sounds like a bad thing, a threatening thing. That's what your sameness brain is telling you.
From the movie The Shawshank Redemption, one of my favorite quotes is: I guess it comes down to one thing. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
Today I have a day off from work. After I finish blogging I'm going to wash towels, and then I'm going to trim some shrubs before eating some leftover fettucini for lunch.
I could have said:
Today I have a day off from work. I flew in to San Diego last night, and this morning I'm going with my son to stick our feet in the Pacific Ocean and watch sea lions sun themselves on the rocks nearby. Next we're going to locate and consume the best burritos in the state.
Would that have been worth $1000?
Very soon I will be retiring ChrisBarsam.com, and I am starting up this little blog to replace it.
Let's see what happens!
