Good Morning from Montepulciano, Italy. Today I would like to introduce you to a blogging friend, Attila Ovari. Attila lives in Australia and I happened upon his blog about a year ago. Attila’s posts always lift me up. He works hard and is dedicated to family and scouting. He will be sharing with you over the next few days and I hope you take a look at his blog linked below.
Within our lives we all have a comfort zone. For most people the comfort zone will include what work we do, who our friends are, what activities we participate in and what places we travel too. Our comfort zone is the familiar area we operate our life within. So what lies beyond the familiar?
Ask yourself:
Do you live life with passion and adventure?
Or you live life in the familiar?
If you live life with passion and adventure my congratulations you, you are among the few that will truly experience what life has to offer. If you live life in the familiar I encourage you to go beyond. There will be many of you out there that will be questioning why go beyond the familiar? Why live life with adventure?
To answer this I have a story….. I have done much travel and travelled to many parts of the world that most people would consider off the beaten track. This includes Colombia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Niue and Timor Leste. In each of these places I have had experiences that have brought out the best in my passion, emotion, compassion and humanity.
In Colombia I remember many, many, many years ago being in a small city for New Year’s…. I had made friends with some people that lived in the lower income part of town. Going to their home during the festivities was a blast. Children were everywhere and the all the families were all out in the streets partying. Homemade fireworks were being set off. I even got to set off some fireworks myself. Despite the income gap between these people and myself I realized and had my eyes opened to what community is really about.
I traveled to Kosovo via a bus from Montenegro, which was an experience in itself. I was lucky to get across the border into Kosovo. Although I only spent about ten hours in the country, I saw what I came to see. I looked at the reconstruction work going on, the wall of the missing, read some stories about the conflict. I saw how churches had to be protected with barb wire. I shed many tears in Kosovo, it is very sad how we as humans can treat each other so poorly. It was an emotional time that taught me to remember my humanity. The Kosovars may have been the poorest people in Europe, however I was so touched by their willingness to share.
Again my visit to Montenegro was short, however I stayed at a lovely little hotel near the bus station. Though I spent most of my time in the capital, I got talking with the locals. I found out that thought there was not a lot to see in the capital and it was a little bland, I need to come back and go to the mountains in the North. This taught me the importance of human connections and how if you talk with locals you will get the best advice on where to go…. I had a similar experience in Slovenia, which turned my trip into an awesome experience.
My final story is about Timor Leste. This was about keeping a promise and discovering a gem in the region. It all started when I travelled to Sweden for the World Scout Jamboree in 2011 with two Timor Leste Scouts in the team of Australian Scouts. This led to a Scout community project in Timor Leste in 2012. The community project involved working with a school in the high country which only had half a roof. The other half had been blown away in a storm about 2 years earlier…. People often wonder why I have little tolerance for people complaining about the education system in my home country Australia. Once I had traveled to Timor Leste I learned to value what I have. Yes improvements can be made, however become part of the solution not just whinge about the issues.
So why do I encourage people to go beyond the familiar? I guess it comes back to connecting people with the wider community, creating greater understanding, appreciating what you have and discovering beauty. None of the experiences listed above could I have experienced from my home, through the television or from the computer. These are experiences that need to be lived.
So what is adventure?
Adventure is different for each person. For some people adventure will be traveling to the next state or it could be a new experience such as snorkelling. For others it will be to travel through Africa or an experience like sky diving. I think that the key thing is that adventure is expanding you beyond the familiar… Just outside your comfort zone. Just a little at a time, so as to expand you each time.
In summary ask yourself:
Do you live your life in your comfort zone?
What is something that you look at and wish you could do, but fear holds you back?
What is one thing that you can do in the next week on your fearful list?
Written by Attila Ovari. Attila Ovari is a family man, with a passion for travel, business and developing people. For more on Attila’s adventures and passion for life visit http://www.attilaovari.com.
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