{"id":690,"date":"2011-11-11T06:00:28","date_gmt":"2011-11-11T11:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/awakeintheworld\/?p=690"},"modified":"2011-11-10T07:59:16","modified_gmt":"2011-11-10T12:59:16","slug":"turning-trying-challenges-into-adventures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2011\/11\/turning-trying-challenges-into-adventures.html","title":{"rendered":"Turning Trying Challenges into Adventures"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Life is an adventure. Explore it.<\/p>\n<p>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 \u2013 open heart surgery. I felt her shock even through the email. It\u2019s always difficult to know what to say, but I sensed she would come out of the experience okay. \u201cIt\u2019ll be an adventure,\u201d I wrote. She said those surprising words shifted her perspective.<\/p>\n<p>On the way down the hospital corridors she saw a quote displayed prominently on a wall. \u201cOne way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure.\u201d The synchronicity caught her off guard. \u201cI had no choice but to let go and be carried along by the angel spirits,\u201d she later wrote. Today she\u2019s 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&#8217;s Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health in Durham, NC, those who have solid spiritual beliefs and upbeat attitudes make it through life&#8217;s challenges better,\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n<p>As I go through challenging and uncertain times right now, I\u2019m making myself remember and hold to that view. So often it\u2019s 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\u2019s like the universe is says, \u201cWake up!\u00a0 We&#8217;re on a trip and you can&#8217;t afford to drive it with your eyes shut.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re 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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bio:<\/strong> Debra Moffitt is author of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Awake-World-Practices-Divinely-Inspired\/dp\/0738727229\">Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life<\/a>. A visionary and teacher, she\u2019s 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\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.awakeintheworld.com\/\">http:\/\/www.awakeintheworld.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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 \u2013 open heart surgery. I felt her shock even through the email. It\u2019s always difficult to know what to say,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":409,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,4,26,125,3],"tags":[346,345,469,471,470],"class_list":["post-690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith","category-inspiration","category-meditation","category-oneness","category-spiritual-practice","tag-awake-in-the-world","tag-debra-moffitt","tag-how-open-heart-surgery-became-an-adventure","tag-living-an-adventure","tag-transforming-the-view-of-the-trials"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Turning Trying Challenges into Adventures - Awake in the World<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2011\/11\/turning-trying-challenges-into-adventures.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Turning Trying Challenges into Adventures - Awake in the World\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"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 \u2013 open heart surgery. I felt her shock even through the email. It\u2019s always difficult to know what to say,&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2011\/11\/turning-trying-challenges-into-adventures.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Awake in the World\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-11-11T11:00:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-11-10T12:59:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"debramoffitt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Turning Trying Challenges into Adventures - Awake in the World","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2011\/11\/turning-trying-challenges-into-adventures.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Turning Trying Challenges into Adventures - Awake in the World","og_description":"Life is an adventure. 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