When Was Your Last First Time?

 What is the last time you tried something new? This sentence is hung on my bedroom door.  As a child, the answer was a simple one...generally it was a day or even a few hours, but now I have to really think about it. 

We had a talk by Fr. Searby this year where he suggested that the source of the hook-up and drinking culture is a lack of adventure.  People don't know what to do on a Saturday night so they end up defaulting to the normal routine.  But when did we lose that willingness to try new things?

As kids, the world is ours to explore.  Things as small as crossing a bridge brought so much excitement. But around 11 or 12yrs old, I started wanting to become more of a grown up. I wanted to use more technology and to become more serious. You have friends over and you feel silly running through the woods together looking for pirates and we forget that there are other ways to explore.  We become businesslike adults to survive in the working world, but that urge for excitement never leaves. 

We have now grown into a generation of viewers not participants in adventures.  We sit for hours scrolling through Pintrest or watching discovery channel because somewhere out there are people who are having their own adventures.  We complain that we don't have enough money to travel, and then we content ourselves with buying high definition screens and faster internet speeds. Our world has become so open to us with faster easier ways to travel, but we have become closed to it because having an adventure is a little too scary and new.

So what can we do about this? How can we change our midset? Start by challenging yourself to do something new each day. It can be as small as putting a new outfit combination together, driving down a new road, putting something different on your sandwich, or listening to a new song.  Put a piece of paper on the fridge and write down the new thing for the day.  If you have a family or housemates challenge them to do the same and ask about it each night.  Then start seeing things as an adventure. Take a shower in the dark; light candles at dinner; make an interesting dinner; try an exotic fruit from the grocery store; go on a picnic; Anything! Just get up and do it!