Adventurer in The dotted line

I'm an adventurer at heart.

It stems from my parents' love of travel and the opportunities they gave me.

I attended many different schools, have lived in dozens of houses and have been privileged enough to be able to travel extensively.

And every new doorway has meant facing new challenges, or facing familiar challenges from a new perspective.

Seeing somewhere new, no matter where it is, has taught me something about the world and something about myself.

It's humbling, enlightening, inspiring and rewarding.

And I'm starting to learn, after being settled in one place for the longest time I've ever settled anywhere, that there are different opportunities to learn from, by not constantly moving.

When we bought a house and settled in permanently, it filled me with anxiety. I had no blueprint for this. I've never lived anywhere long term and definitely not in the sort of village where families have lived for generations and there is an established rhythm that everyone seems to know (except me) and where the dominant political right-wing leaning conflicts with my own.

I'd say staying put has been the hardest challenge of them all and one that's brought the most complete revolution.

I also used to think that a mid-life crisis was something experienced by parents, who finally had the space to rediscover themselves after decades of dedicating their lives to their families.

But once I reached middle age, I realised it's something much wider reaching than that. It's more like you reach a point where you've gathered enough experience and wisdom, and gained enough financial security to no longer be willing to compromise yourself. In your values, in your workplace, in your priorities. It's less of a crisis and more of a becomming.

So I'm grateful to the lessons and opportunities the discomfort of staying still has brought me. I am finally starting to face myself, my limitations, the bad habits and coping mechanisms I've developed, what holds me back, the conflicts I repeatedly avoid, the lies I tell myself to make it comfortable and the realisation that I can change myself and the way I interact with the world around me.