The thirst for adventure

CEBU, Philippines - The general appetite for adventure has noticeably heightened. In fact, adventure activities are now a big tourism come-on. Adventure seekers have grown in numbers.

There are those that shy away from adventure, though. They view it as unnecessarily courting trouble, considering that risk is a basic element in an adventure activity; it's only the degree of risk that varies from one adventure activity to another.

those who go for adventure assert that the experience is really something else. The kick they get, they say, range from simple excitement to a spiritual high. Among the high-adventure seekers, the experience often brings a change in their perspective on life and living.

Activities like mountain climbing, skydiving, bungee jumping, zip-lining, and the like involves a potential for physical danger. Extreme sports and scuba diving involve some degree of risk, too. But why do people do it?

It's understandable why the lures of adventure mostly appeals to the young. Young people are in that phase of life where the body can still fully support the wishes of the mind. Physical energy is raging and, accordingly, the mind brims with curiosity to test and discover other aspects of the human experience.

As a method for self-discovery, adventure can bring forth psychological stimulation. The sense of excitement, whether positive of negative, that an adventure activity creates in the person can reveal something new about himself. The feeling, they say, is somewhat similar to a first time in a water bed (which is positive) or when one is caught inside a burning house (negative).

The heightened feeling of either awareness or helplessness can summon abilities that have been lying dormant beneath the person's consciousness. There have been people changing vocations or conquering phobias after they get involved in particular adventure activities.

Some people move on further and make adventure the center of their lives. Now and then there's a news report on someone cheating death in Antarctica and another one over in the Andes Mountains. On the extreme, there are people willing to give up their lives for the rare experience.

But there are also adventure seekers who choose to temper their daring with a noble sense of mission. In Cebu, for example, there are adventure groups that take on an advocacy other than their sheer thirst for adventure. There are mountaineers organizing themselves to do regular tree-planting activities and scuba divers campaigning for the rehabilitation and proper care of the local seas.

Helen Keller once said, "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." But maybe it isn't necessary to take great risks for adventure. The feeble-hearted may still taste a semblance of the uplifting experience without having to climb the highest peak or fly to the limits of the earth's atmosphere.

There is also adventure in risking a little in attempting to start a conversation with a strict neighbor, or in betting at the lottery once in a while, or in starting a home-based business, or in falling in love again after a failed relationship.

Overall, a good adventure is one where the risks to be faced substantially justifies the possible benefits to be gained. It seems, though, that the greater the risk the greater the gain.