I fear growing old. Not because my hair will turn grey and my face will be wrinkled, but because my mentality might change. I’m worried that I will loose my curiosity for life and my hunger to try new things. And, most of all, I dread the idea of being less energetic and accepting a comfortable and passive daily routine.
The remarkable thing about children is that they live each day with adventure! The trials and concerns of yesterday are long forgotten as they spend their time discovering and exploring each new day as though it was a great mystery to be solved. Of course, contrarily to children, we adults have responsibilities that we must maintain towards ourselves, our family and others. Life is full of obligations, commitments and sacrifices. We are often limited on the physical adventures that we can embark on because of time, money or commitments, but we do have the ability to always control the idea of what adventure is simply by changing our mental association with the word. Trying to prepare a new recipe, learning a new language or speaking in front of a large group of people in a meeting are everyday adventures. They are things that challenge us, that we can learn from or that we may even be afraid of. I think adventure is anything that involves risk and an unknown outcome. When I think about my challenges as adventures, life becomes a bit more exciting and my fears and doubts a bit less daunting.
This Saturday at Toma e Tomi in Carpi (Emilia-Romagna, Italy), I will be throwing myself in this kind of “daily adventure.” I’ll be speaking in Italian and cooking in front of an audience and at the end there will be a tasting. I love these types of events even though at the beginning I always get nervous, I doubt my fluency in the language and my ability to cook something that people will enjoy. Then, I try to get over these fears and doubts by thinking about the phrase that Helen Keller once said,
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”
I don’t believe her quote means you need to necessarily leave your home to hike Mt. Everest or navigate the wild ocean on a bamboo raft. I believe that she found adventure in her daily life just by constantly staying hungry and curious to learn new things and face her challenges with a lot of courage.
I wish you an adventurous day wherever you are. If you happen to be in Emilia-Romagna I would love to meet you in person at the show cooking event!
Where: Toma e Tomi
When: May 16th
Time: 18:30
