Life is an adventure. Explore it.

Opening the heart can become an adventure. Recently a friend wrote to me in a state of shock. She was on her way to the hospital for a surprise – open heart surgery. I felt her shock even through the email. It’s always difficult to know what to say, but I sensed she would come out of the experience okay. “It’ll be an adventure,” I wrote. She said those surprising words shifted her perspective.

On the way down the hospital corridors she saw a quote displayed prominently on a wall. “One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure.” The synchronicity caught her off guard. “I had no choice but to let go and be carried along by the angel spirits,” she later wrote. Today she’s well on her way to mending with a happy heart. She is healing well and her attitude and elevated spirits have helped. According to recent studies at Duke’s Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health in Durham, NC, those who have solid spiritual beliefs and upbeat attitudes make it through life’s challenges better,  heal faster and reduces stress. It confirms that when life is viewed as an adventure we take the journey in a way that is healthier for our bodies, minds and spirits.

As I go through challenging and uncertain times right now, I’m making myself remember and hold to that view. So often it’s easy to settle into a comfortable situation and find it easy to lose consciousness and fall asleep. It seems this is when life jerks us back into the game and throws a curve ball that changes the score. It’s like the universe is says, “Wake up!  We’re on a trip and you can’t afford to drive it with your eyes shut.”

If you’re having challenges today, make the effort to shift perspective from worry, fear and anxiety to viewing life as an adventure. Explorers who set off on a journey don’t expect comfort and constancy. They anticipate difficulties and challenges on their great adventure. Find excitement and joy in the new opportunities that may grow from challenging situations.

Bio: Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life. A visionary and teacher, she’s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind/body/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at  http://www.awakeintheworld.com.