life of luxury?

So, this is a bit of a topic that i have wanted to write about for a bit of a time, but, i got to thinking about it a bit more this weekend, which kinda prompts a new post....

but, before we start that. this week is a sweet sweet recovery week. Today, in fact i have NO workout scheduled. Shocking. First day in a LONG time that i have not exercised. and, i am SO ready for the recovery week. My long workouts this weekend were hard. and, i felt my body having a challenging time with them. But, alas. i know that come the summer, I am going to appreciate the work that has been put in now. My coach, Mary, at train-this, knows what she is doing. and i like to believe that what she is doing is going to make me faster.

so, this past weeks numbers:

Swim: 2hrs 4800m

Bike: 6hrs 15 min

run: 4hr 32 min

strength+yoga: 1hr30

total: 14hr 17 min

SO, let's start off with why i was thinking about this particular subject. I did not have a all together "productive" weekend, in terms of getting stuff done. Though, I did do a lot of stuff. After handing the methods section of my research proposal in, i just felt exceptionally burnt out with school work. So, I think it has been good that i didn't look at any of my homework all weekend. gave "time off." so that now, on monday, i can be productive.

but, i did, both yesterday and today, have a "pre-departure weekend" with all the other Mcgill nursing students (both graduate and undergraduate) that will be spending time abroad in the coming months. It is REALLY exciting, and it is really neat to have weekends like this, where you actually start thinking about it more. For perhaps the first time so far, the fact that i am going to Malawi became more of a "lived reality" than an academic research project. and i like that. a lot. my heart is so passionate about working and serving the people of africa. and, i am starting to realize that in 6 months... i will be "home" again. (ok. ok. so, i know malawi is not the same as anywhere else i have ever gone in Africa. but, i know that my heart will be attached to that continent again...)

I was recently re-acquainted with someone that I know from my days at Pioneer Ranch Camp, in Rocky Mountain House, alberta. Now, the thing about everyone that i worked with at camp, is that there has got to have a common personality theme.... possibly one that seeks adventure, loves the adrenaline that comes with new experience and being silly, gains energy from the people around them. a lot of the people i met there have traveled to the far places of the earth, dedicated time to serving others, and taken time to expose themselves to new, and unknown experience.

circa 2006... packing up rain jackets for jr high girls to go on a out trip...

which, makes working at camp AMAZING. it also makes working at camp very transitional, with a whole bunch of people who move and shift and change often. This acquaintance (Jenna), who is now doing an IVCF internship here in Montreal, and I starting talking about what "adventure" looks like. And, I am not going to lie, i have thought about this A LOT in the last 2 years or so, and realize that i have held one view in my mind about what adventure looks like, for a long time. but, that view is not necessarily true.

i mean, when you do a google image search for adventure, you see roller coasters, and skydiving, and rafting and tropical places and photographers and mountains. definitely all things that i love. things i love a lot...

but... what is the difference between living a life of adventure, and living a life of luxury? We live in world, where wealth is exceptionally mal-distributed. I will not spout statistics at you.... but, you can check them out, if you want. it is not very hard to find... if you want to find it.

i come from a background of privilege... no, my family is not rich... but, i have been given opportunities that MANY MANY people never have the chance to. i mean, i was given the amazing opportunity to go to a private boarding school, Brentwood College School, on a sea-front campus. i had people pay me to go to college, because of my athletic accomplishments. my parents have both been employed fairly steadily for most of my/their lives. we had dogs. and cats. and chances to participate in sports. we had nothing extreme. but we had.

and, i would bet that 99% of the people who read this blog also have.

and... that is ok. because that is what our culture is.

and.. i tend to think, that it is just how we handle what we have.

so, in my life, I have been thinking about how to re-define adventure. because, sometimes, adventure looks like a life of luxury. a life that 99% of the people on this earth cannot even imagine having. people cannot just get up and quit their jobs, and spend money and go to far away lands. they can't just spend 100$ on a day of diving. or 250$ for a 5 hour race (if going very fast...). those are things we get in luxury.

and, yes. they are things that are very nice, and often character building, and many times are aimed at benefiting other people as well.

but, i guess... the question in my mind has really been "what does adventure look like? and, how can i still have adventure, while being cognizant of those around me?"

i think having a re-definition of adventure would serve my life well.