Monday inspiration:

All good fortune is a gift of the gods, and you don’t win the favor of the ancient gods by being good, but by being bold.”
~ Anita Brookner

Here in the land of ancient gods, this quote rings true! I’m in Rome now, and one thing is certain — those Roman emperors who ruled the ancient world were bold, and accomplished many things. Were they good guys? Not most of them. Bold? Definitely!

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I’m in Italy now, scoping out a new Italy trip for women for 2009. I’ve always been fascinated with Rome, and the amazing history here. And Pompeii (the lost city, buried by a volcano) is another all-time favorite. I’ll keep you posted on what I come up with!

Monday inspiration:

I never intended to become a run-of-the-mill person.”
~ Barbara Jordan

How true! In spite of the pressures we all feel to conform and fit in, when you put it like that, who wouldn’t agree? There’s no WAY I want to be a run-of-the-mill person!

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I’m in Greece right now, checking out some things for next year’s Greek Islands tour for women. Due to the extreme rise in the Euro compared to the US Dollar, I’m looking for more economical ways we can visit these fascinating islands. I’ll keep you posted!

Monday quote:

Self-pity gets you nowhere. One must have the adventurous daring to accept oneself as a bundle of possibilities and undertake the most interesting game in the world — making the most of one’s best.”
~ Harry Emerson Fosdick

What a cool way to look at life!

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I’m in Ireland now, at the lovely Carrig Country House. — part of our Ireland tour for women. Definitely playing that most interesting game in the world - I love it!

Monday quote:

Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don’t fight them. Just find a different way to stand.”
~ Oprah Winfrey

This one reminds me of sailing. If you’ve ever walked around on a sailboat, heeled over to one side, and moving over the waves, you’ll know just what I mean! No point in fighting it — just find a different way to stand.

Monday quote:

Your world is as big as you make it
I know, for I used to abide
In the narrowest nest in a corner
My wings pressing close to my side

But I sighted the distant horizon
Where the sky-line encircled the sea
And I throbbed with a burning desire
To travel this immensity

I battered the cordons around me
And cradled my wings on the breeze
Then soared to the uttermost reaches
With rapture, with power, with ease!”

~ Georgia Douglas Johnson, Harlem Renaissance poet
from Share My World

Wow! Is that great, or what?

I’m still working on the rapture, power, and ease part. Perhaps the secret lies in battering the cordons?

Monday quote:

Is not life a hundred times too short to be bored?”
~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Looking at a different angle… Is not every minute of every hour too precious to be bored? With all there is in the world, I can’t even imagine being bored!

PS. OK, OK, I admit sometimes waiting for the airport shuttle comes close!

Monday quote:

I have found adventure in flying, in world travel, in business, and even close at hand. Adventure is a state of mind — and spirit.” ~ Jacqueline Cochran, aviator

This is exactly what the philosophy of adventure is all about. Couldn’t have said it better myself!

I just ran across this quote from Oscar Wilde, and it’s a compelling thought (one of his many).

clipped from en.thinkexist.com “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.”

Of course there is an alternative, though it involves a bit more risk. Living your own life (hopefully an adventurous one!) means stepping out from the crowd and showing yourself. Yikes!