What is the point of these adventures / expeditions / jaunts that I head off on? I worry often about how I can make my life / work / jaunts about more than selfish satisfaction of my own wanderlust.
So I liked this list I came across on the Digital Explorer blog. It’s written as part of a post on a slightly different issue, but it struck me as a decent aide-memoire for my planning.
- Expeditions should work to inspire the next generation to be truly global citizens by enhancing their understanding of the world
- Expeditions should aspire to a professional level of communications (through film, photography and writing, both on and offline)
- An expedition’s objectives should relate to wider societal concerns
- The world of exploration is big enough to encompass a range of different types and styles of expedition (taking into account the above points)
- An expedition that is inspiring and exciting is more likely to engage an educational and generalist audience
What do you think? Do you agree? Is anything missing? Have your say in the comments…
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I agree with all of the points listed. In addition, to expand on point # 1 I think they should inspire the next generation to become adventurers themselves, or at least to get outside and learn first hand about the world around them.
Good point, Jake. I think this is actually the Number 1 reason behind me wanting to get into schools and talk to young people.
I have a few thoughts…
– To open up a much bigger topic (which I won’t); what is the purpose of art, poetry, music, etc. As cliqued as the film is, this quote from Dead Poet’s Society encapsulates the purpose of poetry… there’s similarity here… ‘We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, [EXPEDITIONS] these are what we stay alive for.”
– Another purpose… To push/reveal your physical or mental capabilities. To better yourself, strive for excellence… to quote Mandela – ‘Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure.’
– I think as well as inspiring a younger generation to explore/travel you are demonstrating how they can live well. Today childens generation are the first generation in history who may have a shorter live expectancy that that of our parents. Two reasons… lack of exercise, too much screen time. I think inspiring others to live well is a fundamental reason.
Wow.. that’s deep. And, I’ve written more than enough… :-)
I like this,
‘We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, [EXPEDITIONS] these are what we stay alive for.”
Similar to your second point:
“Do not be concerned that you might set a target too high and fail. Be concerned that you will set it too low and succeed” – Michelangelo
And exploring your physical / mental limits is certainly a useful exercise to apply to more important things than expeditions.
Al,
Glad that you found the post interesting, and a great comment from Jim. The digital part is becoming less important and the explorer part more so for me. Went back to the Tibetan community a month or so ago in India and it really made me consider how much digital can help (oops) – http://digitalexplorer.com/2010/11/08/conversations-on-education-and-exploration-with-a-tibetan-monk/.
Jamie,
A bold statement from a tech-geek:
“No amount of digital wizardry can replace the simple impact of one concerned and impassioned human being sharing their experiences directly with another”
I guess the truth is that there is a time, a place, and a pragmatic benefit to the technology option.
I hate to be an old cynic, but I see these more as necessary 21st Century justifications rather than core purposes. Society these days does not allow us to just b*gger off and do something enjoyable, but with little tangible purpose. To attempt to scrape a living doing this stuff, I assume, means constantly finding angles and niches to explore but at the end of the day it is the desire to “just b*gger off” that underlies it all.
Right now I am considering whether my impending mid-life crisis justifies a last hurrah bike tour. I can honestly say that I am not considering any of the above as more than an afterthought but what drives the idea is just the sheer joy of doing something fun and challenging and seeing parts of the world I would never otherwise see. (However, I can understand that for your nth expedition, some additional purpose would be motivational)
Assuming you are not hurting anyone and you pay your way to make it happen, expeditions don’t really need a justification. However, if you can inspire others and do some good at the same time, then it would certainly be rude not to. But let’s not be forced to pretend that, at heart, there is not still part of the little child that used to enjoy jumping in muddy puddles and going on adventures in us all. Or that somehow we should be ashamed to let it out now and again.
(steps off soapbox)
Hi Graeme,
You are very right. To a point. (I think!!)
I utterly agree that the most valuable reason for doing anything adventurous is simply “for the hell of it.”
But if you can make something good / useful come out of that as well then so much the better.
“the sheer joy of doing something fun and challenging and seeing parts of the world I would never otherwise see” is wonderful, and you/me are privileged to be able to do that. But I also think it’s a good thing (though certainly slightly secondary) to be able to share some of that feeling that others may travel / learn vicariously with you. And you clearly do too.
But there is definitely a time and place for jumping in muddy puddles, or even charging stark b*ll*ck naked into the North Sea: https://alastairhumphreys.com/2009/09/day-life-author-adventurer-motivational-speaker-big-kid/
Graeme, I agree with you. There are many motivations for expeditions – boredom, curiosity, joy, vanity, idealism and more.
There are a couple of other points in here…
This list was written for a specific audience of field research expeditions and professional explorer types and also as a rallying call to those in the ‘trade’ to do more. Your response also points to the endless debate over what is an expedition vs an adventure vs a holiday. I think we all have a gut feel for the differences, but always find it hard to nail it in words.
Firstly, I hope everyone realised that I was being slightly tongue-in-cheek. Also, to echo Tim’s comment below, I was looking at this from the wider perspective rather than for organisations for which the list is a clear, and very admirable, statement of basic intent.
For many people the inspirational and charitable angles are clearly core motivations and I was certainly not trying to belittle that aspect. I just hope that when they do incorporate these aspects they are purely down to personal motivation, or perhaps funding necessity, and not that people feel a pressure to include them because it is deemed by others necessary to justify how they spend their own time.
Completely agree with Graeme!
Recently I’ve spent loads of time researching various cycling expeditions. It appears there is an explosion of adventurous individuals setting off on ‘world tours’.
(The use of ‘world tour’ is a little pet peeve of mine. In reality, there are very few people who manage to really cycle around the world, hitting all the continents)
Obviously they got their inspiration somewhere. Maybe on this very blog.
As far as I can tell, most people set off on expeditions because their regular life has left them bored and unfulfilled.
Nowadays savvy individuals realize they need a hook in order to find sponsorship so they come up with a worthy sounding project to justify their expedition. Which is fine, I suppose.
But in the end, I think most people just crave new experiences and that feeling of being truly alive that comes from travel and testing your limits.
Hi Amaya,
Thanks for this – and your opinion is one I definitely rate highly after all you have done!
I wonder what your definition of “World Tour” would be?
Good list, thanks Al, thanks Jamie.
I’m not sure I’d agree with points 2 or 3 though.
#2: I think it’s easy for the “adventurer-bloggers” to over estimate the importance of instant multi-media communications when, really, they’re just a nice bonus (for both follower and participant). I constantly fall foul of this.
#3: Perhaps because adventuring is so much more common these days and there’s an unfortunate tendency to exaggerate claims in pursuit of money and fame, there seems to be a reaction by others to decide that expeditions must have noble objectives (like relating to wider societal concerns). I think that’s nonsense!
An expedition’s objectives can be whatever you want them to be. And better to be honest in simple or selfish goals than disingenuous with grand and noble ones.
(P.S. I appreciate that the original blog was written in a different context so I guess my thoughts apply to the list’s use in a broader expedition content)
Interesting points, clouded by blurred definitions – I think an expedition (as opposed to an adventure) is more likely to have a purpose that lends itself to a greater societal benefit, whereas an adventure is likely to be a more personal endeavour.
There seems to be an understandable trend for people who embark initially on personal adventures to progress towards objective expeditions as time goes on. I think this is an important process for the individual to go through. Personally, it wasn’t until I’d done an awful lot of biking that I began to realise how it could be used to communicate and educate as well – and also the limitations that my style of bike touring put upon my own education and consequently that which I could pass on. Now I realise that I’m only just starting out!
This topic really is flavour of the month! What’s interesting is that there are very few blog posts in existence which debate ‘The Purpose of Rugby/Football/insert non-critical but enjoyable and challenging past-time’.
Once again Mr. Hibbert nails it!
‘@Al an answer to your question: I wonder what your definition of “World Tour” would be?
A real World Tour, in my opinion, ought at least hit all the continents. What I really object to is the folks who are biking from London to Sydney and bill their tour as a round the world cycling adventure. It’s not. It’s a 15,000 kilometer ride across Europe and Asia which is great, amazing in itself. It’s just not a bike tour around the world. Now I’ll step off my soapbox and chill out.
Oh dear – sadly that rules me out then! And Thomas Stevens.
Alright, then I revise my answer. A real round the world bike tour should hit at least 5 continents. Your tour,Al, DEFINITELY counts.
Tim,
I definitely agree that it is essential for the adventurer to focus primarily on the experience. Tweeting, I hope, should always remain secondary to that!
I think the adventuring community is generally very encouraging and mutually supportive. The thing that gets people’s hackles up is false claims, exaggeration and an unseemly courting of celebrity, primacy, or loot. A caveat to us all!
And I am sure that we would all agree there is a very clear purpose to rugby and cricket (namely whupping the Aussies…!)