In 1996 at age 46, I volunteered to go on a friend’s 42 foot long motor yacht from Florida to St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands for the adventure. I had never been on the open seas before and really had no idea what I was volunteering to do. But I trusted my friend and his skills. That trip also shook up my world. Sea sick the first 4 days, I was not much help on board, but Gerry was kind enough to let me sleep and get balanced until I could be more helpful on board. The trip was 17 days and included beautiful sites, island people, and also horrific storms and rough seas at times, but it was a very memorable adventure and one that added new chapters to my life story and my personal evolution.
Then in 2007, at age 57, I went on a 17-day adventure safari in Tanzania with 10 men to explore the beauty and diversity of flora and fauna, and traveled with tribesmen from the Hadzabe who are the only original hunter-gatherer tribes in the world. We also learned about two other tribal cultures including the Maasai people and their way of life. This experience was called an Inventure, as we had an outward adventure in an exciting terrain, but we explored our inner terrain with nightly fireside chats and reflections on how we were being affected by this ancient landscape, and the wild animals we traveled amongst on the trek.
My latest in Inventure was just recently, (age 64) as I was invited to participate in a retreat called Points of Inspiration with 16 people from 13 countries in Israel. Most all of us were trainers in a method called Points of You ™, a coaching and communication game with photograph cards and methods to relate a picture with a new point of view for any part of your life or work. Our first three days were in the desert in South Israel in Sukkahs, very primitive huts in the desert with no running water and vegetarian food for the 3 days. The first two days were to be in silence (except when we were in group meetings with some limited sharing). We all did deep personal exploration of our life direction, our place in the world, our purpose for being, and our connection to our new ‘friends’ from all over the world. The final 3 days were spent in Jerusalem exploring our inner self some more in group activities, but also including seeing the holy sites of the Christians, the Jews, and the Muslim religions, giving us what I called purposeful touring for different points of view. This experience was another eye opening experience, and one that opened my heart and spirit to new viewpoints and new ways to bring my learning back with me to my present life.
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