I choose adventure.

Earlier in the summer a friend and I met in Owensboro, Kentucky to spend the weekend at ROMP. We set up camp and got ready to explore the festival grounds for the evening.

After going back and forth about what we should do first, he mentioned another friend who once said, “Always choose adventure.” We made a pact then and there to do the very same.

It gave our spirits a lift just saying it out loud and the excitement of the awaited unknown was ready for us to meet it. Over the next two nights, we saw Tuba Skinny, Greensky Bluegrass, ate watermelon & mint salad, stood mesmerized by Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, The Infamous Stringdusters, shared a pizza, caught Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway. One of my favorite parts of the weekend was crossing a bridge with lots of fairy lights that led us to a small, magical cabin stage for a late-night jam with The Slocan Ramblers.

Today, when you’re faced with the question, “What should I do next?” or “Where should I go now?”

Always choose connection.

Always choose vulnerability.

Always choose authenticity.

Always choose the adventure of participating as deeply as you can right there in the moment. It’s always fun to see who meets you there.

The video below came up as a suggestion for me to listen to, which I did the morning after I made this post. And, it occurred to me that it was a beautiful bookend that belonged here. It’s a short little thing, and well worth the listen.

If you’ve never listened to On Being, I encourage you to dive into the series. It lives wherever you listen to podcasts and there is also a lot to be found on YouTube as well. There are poems and snippets for sharing, longer conversations for quiet drives, and plenty more to discover. I have also enjoyed Krista’s off-season summer newsletter, The Pause, and Poetry Unbound.

Enjoy.