The Thrill of Discovery

Life IS the Adventure

Have you ever noticed that…

The first bite of dessert is always the sweetest?
The first touch by a crush… the most electric?
The first kiss… the most soul-searing?

It’s the thrill of discovery.

As children, we experience so many things for the very first time. Our senses are thrown open wide to soak in the incredible world around us. We aren’t just on the edge of our seat paying attention, we’re standing on it with excited anticipation a split second before taking a huge fearless leap into the sensory overload.

Take the time to see, hear, smell, taste, and feel things you haven’t paused long enough to absorb, and you’ll be rewarded with new experiences. Sometimes altering one element in your everyday routine incites a riot of new input simply by going off-course from the expected. A shift to a different position at a favorite restaurant table is a basic example. You’ve changed your viewpoint literally and your perception in a multitude of ways. Try it.

A few months back, I sat on the ground examining a new transplant in our yard out of concern for its welfare (I’m a horrific plant parent) and found more than the plant alive before my eyes.

What a treasure it is to stumble across something beautiful happening right under our busy noses.

Writers, Readers and Discovery

As a writer, we express our three-dimensional adventure onto the page, tempting the reader to get lost in the vivid world we’ve created. Our goal is to take them along for a ride they’ve never experienced.

If because of our efforts they…

Feel the abrasive surface of the jagged stone wall…
Squint at the brilliant sunset before it fades below the horizon…
Savor the taste of a tart cherry pie…
Inhale the sweet earthy aroma of a pine forest…
Hear the pop and crackle of a roaring fire?

Mission accomplished.

There is actually a phase in the writing process called discovery. Some define it as the exploratory period in which we seek new topics and do research. I recall an article I read over a year ago that described it ideally. It appeared in a past issue of the RWR (the Romance Writers Report, a trade publication through Romance Writers of America) and described the discovery process as a time of rest and recharge between writing projects.

The holiday from “work” should be a time to immerse ourselves in the outside world, separate from the isolated writing caves we’ve sequestered ourselves within most of the year. Music, art, outdoor adventures, and civic events all become opportunities for us to turn our thinking brains off and amplify our learning. Surrounding ourselves in melting pots of activity allows us to observe human behavior from a relaxed vantage point. Wandering into a different solitary activity, like painting or reading a new book, maybe even in a genre outside our norm, helps expand our horizons.

When the time is right, maybe after a few days, perhaps after a few weeks, our rested and recharged brains are stocked full of creative new ideas from a variety of sources.

Self-Discovery

Interestingly, layers of discovery happened while writing my latest manuscript. The stories in my series are about self-discovery.

At the exact moments my heroine flew high with happiness and achievement, circumstances ripped away her newfound joy. When she stood again from the pile of surrounding rubble, she learned something about herself. She found strength because she’d tasted heavenly bliss and then plummeted to crushing heartache. From a new perspective, she discovered what she truly wanted in life…and it was not what she’d originally thought. Once she realized the ultimate prize within her reach was threatened, she discovered the one thing worth fighting for above all else… those she loved. The ones in her world who relied on her suddenly had all her focused attention.

As my heroine’s discovery unfolded on the pages in true pantster-style writing, her realization provoked my own. Everything is about the journey. Life happens along the way from here to there, and if you aren’t paying attention you’ll miss it.

How funny that my own character in a story taught me how to shift my focus from self-centered to selfless. But then, I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me at all. When we write, pieces of ourselves shine through onto the page and are expressed to some degree in many of our beloved characters.

Life IS the Journey

Treat your life as a rare adventure. Look at each mundane activity as an opportunity to seize a new experience with a subtle shift of perception. Channel the child within you, living every precious day you’re given as a sparkling gift. Unwrap your treasure with unbridled excitement and embrace… the thrill of discovery.

Enjoy your world, my friends. I wish us all the most spectacular time as we step from our ordinary lives into the world of the extraordinary.

Your humble shoe,

~ Kat