Love Crisis/ Confessions of an Adrenaline Junkie
Companionship & compatibility. The more I consider how my past and my dreams for the future are intertwined, the more I realize that my forever honey will have to be my number one adventure buddy. While some couples may dream of hibernating beneath the sheets for all of eternity, others are busy plotting their next blood boiling activity…outside of the bedroom in this case. Certain people are born with a fire in their bellies. This kind of heat doesn’t require the strike of a match nor a mighty lightning bolt to ignite the flame; it exists within their life force. The longing for the rush comes on like a fever, and the anticipation for the next jump, climb, hike, or dive is one of the major elements that keeps these individuals going.
On the upside, living the lifestyle of an adrenaline junkie is easy because you already have a clear idea of what you want from life. It’s the little things that make you happy like hopping out of airplanes rather than the consistent lust for material items and money. On the downside, finding the right hubby for you may prove to be a tad more difficult. Okay, I mean A LOT more difficult. This isn’t a description for the typical couple who’s planning to snorkel on their next getaway, this is a couple made up of two individual people with individual dreams. Meaning they were going to climb that damn mountain on their own, with or without their (insert corny bf/gf nickname here).
Personally when I picture my other half, I know they’ll have to be around the same percentage of wild as I am if not more. The crazed adrenaline junkie requires a fellow adventure seeker to complete the equation. Anything else, and the relationship won’t last.
Here’s why:
Passion is everything: Whoever said passion is overrated is doing it wrong, plus they sound like an old shriveled up raisin. Passion is EVERYTHING. I’d never choose a love that’s anything less than passionate, so I sure as hell wouldn’t lead a lifestyle for myself that’s any different. When a person allows for their love of life to fade away, I believe their life force goes with it. Doing what we love most is what makes us who we are. For adrenaline junkies, a partner who can’t handle the speed will just slow us down, further inhibiting us from being that person we’re meant to be.
Sharing is caring: In Pre-K days we were all about perfectly reciting our abc’s and 123’s to our parents with satisfaction. In elementary years we were gleaming from successful music recitals and coloring inside the lines with the right pitch and a sharp eye, and the high school haze and glory days of mixed tapes for lovers was just the beginning of our transition from adolescence to adulthood. All through the ages, we’ve expressed our goals, our achievements, our downfalls, and our innermost thoughts with the people who’ve held the most importance in our lives, and this action eventually developed into a presence we deem necessary for our romantic relationships. It’s the essence of human nature to want to share something we feel strongly about. Something that may have birthed a positive experience for our life journey, or perhaps it’s simply something that made us happy, and it’s our hope that when we share this story, this song, or this experience with our loved one, it will make them happy too. Still, in certain areas where words just aren’t enough, the only true fulfillment is to experience these moments together that are sure to take our breath away.
Mountaintop; remaining at the height of our lives: From leap to landing, there’s excitement to be found in our mid-air moments and reformed clarity from the stillness in between. The couple who works as a team to experience great heights is rewarded with a greater appreciation for those quiet moments. As a junior in college, I had experienced the most transformational year in my 20 years of life so far. Everything was fast-paced and to my dismay, all of those beautiful, baffling moments would eventually blur together. The months swiftly passed me by, and I began to metamorphosize into a different person. Life flies when you’re busy exploring and I assure you, it wasn’t my studies that year which kept me at a high and passed the time.
On the contrary, I happen to be the type of person who friends are normally yelling at to hurry the hell up on an atmospheric hike, a tour, or a leisurely stroll. Although I blame some of this mayhem on my comparable shortness to other folks, the larger piece of this equation is due to my need for stillness & silence. My everlasting appreciation is for the moments where downtime is the focus, nature is the music, and the rolling hills before my eyes replace the normality of the tv screen. In these moments I couldn’t give a shit about what else is going on, and the last thing I want is to be interrupted. But I’ve learned from that year in college that getting caught in the mayhem just means that you’re alive. That by constantly dragging your feet on the ground & searching for ways to slow the hands on the clock, you risk your happiness. Take it from me. It’s much better to give that marathon everything you’ve got and then collapse on the ground once you’ve pushed through the race. When you’re done, you’ll feel the blood pumping to your ears, and your heart will be beating so fast you can feel it trying to escape from your chest. Once everything’s calmed down, there’s a blanket overhead called nostalgia and it feels quite good to acknowledge.
We have two choices in life, to ride the rollercoaster or to ride the merry-go-round. That compatible mate who’s always seeking adventure will be the type of person to pull you out of the rabbit hole when you’re stuck in a rut because they’re fearless, and you can do the same for them in return. What an excellent way to strengthen the bonds of friendship.
Trust is the name of the game: They say that love is the biggest leap of faith a person can make in their life. I’m all for the metaphorical route, yet there’s something truly romantic about a couple quite literally taking the plunge together. The appetite for adventure sometimes puts us in an unexpected place where we’re forced to rely on a partner. Just like any other project, it always comes down to teamwork, open mindedness, and trust. If one half of the equation fails to meet the other, both sides will lose. Adrenaline junkie couples don’t need to have sit-down conversations about not going through each other’s phones. Through rock climbing escapades, one person’s life is attached to the rope while the other person holds total control of their future. What better method to establish trust in a relationship than death defying acts? =)
Living for the moment: Here it is. That cliche’ catch phrase you were waiting for; “live for the moment.” But is it though? When will living for the moment ever truly be a corny idea. It’s certainly not a given because as we’ve all come to learn too well, most people won’t follow through with their life motto’s. They’ll speak their thoughts loud and clear for the world to hear, they’ll get them tattooed on their bodies, and then their actions will trail off, separating paths between mind & heart towards a destination titled confusion. The dating world has significantly changed from the old days, but guess what? The world is always changing. As society has become undoubtedly focussed on fame, fortune, and social media, certain individuals have complained about how difficult it is to find compatible relationships. I’m one of those people. I’m taking all of this distress as an opportunity to swiftly whisk away those who are not meant to be in my life, ultimately making it easier to find the one, because yes, I hold faith in this idea.
Easy to believe most adrenaline junkies are living for the moment? It should be . All of that pent-up craze for so-called foolishness is the desire to feel something real. Real emotions, real actions, real love for life. And if the organic love for life exists within this person, the love for a potential partner exists within them as well. Everyone’s tagging #relationshipgoals to pictures where couples are traveling & hopping off of waterfalls together. Power to these people…if they go through with it & they’re not just saying it to fit in with the crowd.
In the meantime, I’ll be out there. Participating in all activities which bring joy and simultaneous interruption to my mother’s peace of mind. Perhaps someday along the journey, I’ll meet someone who’s as crazy as I am. For now, I leave it up to fate.
