There is something wonderful about the power of movie music. I know that lots of people only like Shrek ironically (unlike me), and that lots of people really dislike the Hobbit movies. But I love them. And I love their music.
There is nothing quite as evocative of an adventure to come, wrongs to right, homes to win, as the bass hum of a group of dwarves huddled around Bilbo’s dying drawing room fire.
So what things in real life give that same feeling of adventure to come? Is it hefting your suitcase onto the scale at the airport when you’re departing on a journey? Is it lining up ingredients for a new culinary adventure on your kitchen counter, and fetching your favourite cook’s knife? (Side note: if you don’t have a favourite, you owe it to yourself to spend some reasonable money on a good one. It will change your feeling about cooking.)
I think the things that make me feel like I’m embarking on a new adventure at the moment are quite small compared to how they have been in the past, but that doesn’t matter. The world is slowly but surely growing bigger again. So when I get a thrill of adventure clipping on my bike helmet, or unfolding my noble steed, I can hum some dwarf-nonsense to myself. For now.
When I open a box of new books, and get that delightful waft of glue and paper and ink, I can go on an adventure on my couch.
When I walk a slightly different way home on my post-work constitutional, that counts as an adventure too.
Once we feel safe enough to take a train out of Manchester, I want to visit the Peak District. One day, I’ll climb a mountain, look out over the world spread below me and feel deep adventure air in my lungs.
Day 29.
Writing song:
Everyday Adventures 