The world is not in your books and maps, it’s out there.
(Gandalf, The Hobbit)
Carpe Diem!
How much can you fit into 24 hours? Not just the boring stuff – the stuff we do every day – but a real adventure. Not knowing where you will end up, how you will get there, what you will encounter or who you will meet.
Come with me on a journey. All it takes is 24 hours and the courage to leave your normal and everyday life behind. If you can open your mind to the possibility that anything can happen, then anything can happen.
It’s time to step outside your comfort zone…
How?
How the 24 hour adventures takes form doesn’t really matter. Random or planned. By foot or by train. With money or without. With technology or old school. With rules or completely unrestricted. Change the criteria and budget each time. It’s about squeezing as much juice out of the fruit of life as you can. To fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run. To live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.
One option is to stand on the side of a road and stick your thumb out holding a sign saying “anywhere”. This could lead to some mighty adventures. Or it could lead to the middle of nowhere. But if you’re there, then it’s somewhere. Maybe it somewhere you were meant to be. Sometimes the wrong turns lead to the right destination. However, ultimately the destination doesn’t matter, it’s all about the journey.
Another idea is take inspiration from Luke Rhinehart’s Dice man. List six options (perhaps including one that you frightens you, something the protagonist in the book often did) roll the dice and head off in the direction of the outcome.
Of course there are no rules that you have to follow no rules. Random is fun but can be more time consuming and the chances of your day being a washout increases. Have a destination or activity in mind in you can cut through a lot of wasted effort. Just get out, get there and get living.
Get busy living or get busy dying. (Shawshank Redemption)
What to take
Rule No.1 is travel light. Here is a list of my kit:
- Swiss army knife
- Torch
- Sleeping bag
- Smart phone
- Emergency phone charger
- Water bottle
- Emergency food rations
- Pad and pens
- Lighter