The Grand Adventure

Hello! I’m so sorry it has been a minute since I have posted on the blog. However, I have somehow found time to post this blog this week. I’ve really been thinking lately about my time that I spent in confinement during the pandemic. For those of you who don’t know what my situation was, I was on my mission in France at the time. I was truly unable to get home even if I wanted to. We were not allowed to leave the apartment. We could only go out for one hour a day and when we did, we need to carry our passport and fill out a sheet by the French government as to why we were outside. Police would patrol the streets and stop people every once in a while to check documents. So for a couple months of my life, I was pretty much trapped in the walls of my tiny French apartment.

At the time, I was going through it all, and I had to find different ways to cope. One of the things that I did, was write the experience that I was having in the form of a short story. I call this story the Grand Adventure. I wanted to share the story with you guys today because it holds a special place in my heart, and the whole purpose of this blog is for you to get to know me more. So, I want to share with you the beauty that I created in one of my darkest times. I hope that you are able to take away something from this story. It helped me to re-evaluate my life and who I was at the time. I hope it is able to do the same for you.

---

There once was a boy, who wanted to go on a grand adventure. He was very afraid, but he knew that he needed to go on this adventure. This adventure would bring him the one thing that he wanted in all the world, happiness. There were many people who didn't want the boy to go. They said he could find happiness here, but the boy knew that he had to go. So, even though he had fear in his stomach, he also had hope in his heart. The boy packed a bag and said goodbye to his family. With tears in his eye, he gave one last look at the life he would leave behind.

"I will never get to return to this life again," said the boy as he took off, "Maybe that is a good thing, and maybe that is a bad thing. We shall see." 

It was very hard at first, and the road was very long. He encountered many strange things on his path. However, he also encountered many beautiful things on the way. He met some very amazing people, who were also starting their own voyage. The boy traveled with them for a while. He learned many things and formed many connections. For the beginning part of his journey, there were many sunny days where they traveled through fields of flowers and over hills. The boy, being naive, thought it was still very hard. He wanted more than anything to go home, but he pressed forward. Little did he know what he would encounter in his endeavors. Finally, the group reached the ocean and had to part ways. Wishing each other off, they each climbed into their own boats. 

The boy had to navigate a boat across the ocean. Through the tall waves, the storms, and the desperation to return home, the boy continued. 

When the boy finally got to the foreign land he was searching for, he met many strange beings. He found himself in a foreign jungle. With many strange animals, that he could not understand. He didn't like it and insisted on returning home. He decided to return home. On his way back he found himself surrounded by snakes.

"Where are you going?" Asked a snake. 

"I am returning home," replied the boy.

"Why are you going home?" 

"Because this journey is hard. I am alone, and I am very very sad. I don't wish to do this anymore," said the boy. 

The snakes hissed with each other and one by one they bit the boy. 

"You should be happy... You can't go home... You shouldn't tell people if you are sad... Look on the bright side," said the snakes one by one as they bit the boy. 

The snakes eventually left the boy all alone and weak. The boy lay there for what seemed like days. How could one who seemed so nice at first turn so quickly on him? Once the boy had energy again, he sat up. The snake bites had healed, but they left scars. 

"Perhaps," said the boy, "I shall one day forgive those snakes." 

The boy decided to turn back to his adventure. Then he met two wise owls who took him under their wings and taught the boy. For 6 months the boy grew in knowledge and wisdom. The owls helped the boy to open his eyes and see the parts of the world that most people have become blind to. The boy loved the owls and wanted to stay and learn all that he could.

"Perhaps, I could stay with you for a little while longer," said the boy. 

"We would love you to stay with us forever, but we know that if you don't leave the nest, you never learn to fly." 

The boy knew he needed to continue on his journey. With just his backpack and a face full of tears, the boy said goodbye to the owls and set off once again on his adventure. 

"We shall see each other again one day," the boy said as he continued on his path. 

He made it to a new land. It was much calmer there. There were way fewer animals and it was peaceful. However, the boy couldn't help but feel very lonely. He missed home, he missed the jungle, and he really missed the owls. He started to talk with the animals at the lake, searching for what he needed to learn. Suddenly, his stay was quickly interrupted when these giant bears came to destroy as many animals as they could.

The boy, knowing the danger, grabbed his stuff and ran into the woods. The woods were dark, and they seemed to consume every aspect of the boy’s life now. He could barely see ahead of him, and he knew he could not return where he once had walked. It was cold and dark, and the boy felt completely alone. He wasn't able to sleep because at night he was haunted by the ghosts of the forest. 

Every day, he would discover new creatures that would scare him. That tried everything to get him to go back home. There were many days when he wished that he could return. Oh, how the boy wished he was safe comfortably in his bed. But he knew, he had to be on this journey.

 In the woods, he stumbled across a bird. It was a very beautiful bird as well. However, the bird was crying. 

"Why are you crying?" Asked the boy. 

"Because I have forgotten how to sing," replied the bird.

"Why do you need to sing?"

"I need to sing so that I can share my song with everyone," said the bird, "one must never die with their music inside of them." 

"I will teach you to sing," said the boy.

"You can sing?"

"No, but if I help you, maybe I can find my song to sing."  

Over the next couple of days, the boy taught the bird how to sing again. They both found their songs to sing for the world. Once the bird could sing though, they knew that their time together had come to an end. Once again the boy was faced with loneliness. 

Then one day, when he had laid down and was ready to die, he heard the echoes of an owl in the dark forest. It made him think of his friends the owls. He looked around, but couldn't see any owls. He decided that he would follow the sound of the owls. He walked through the woods and began to think about all the lessons the owls taught him. In his pursuit to find the owls, he stumbled across a little stream of water. He sat next to it and looked at his reflection. It was not the face of the boy he once knew, nor was it the face of the boy he knew he was. It was the reflection of a boy who was lost and had forgotten who he was and what he was doing. The boy, unhappy with his reflection, washed his face in the water. When he had finished, he opened his eyes and looked at the reflection. Once again he saw the boy he once knew. The water itself was even more clear. 

So he continued his journey. As he continued his journey he started to notice his surroundings more. He started to listen to the secrets of the wind. He noticed the trees. He saw two different trees. One was filled with thick green leaves and the other had no leaves at all. The boy thought this was strange. 

"I wonder why one tree has leaves and the other doesn't. It must be awfully sad for the tree with no leaves," said the boy. 

"No, I am not sad," replied the tree with no leaves, "look around the forest. There are many trees, yet we are all different. Some trees have leaves and others do not. That is okay. There isn't a single tree that is jealous of another. Why? Because we all have our own blooming cycles. Trees have their seasons, there are times when we have leaves and we don't. We just focus on our own season, and not on others."

"Oh, I see," said the boy. "What if you all lose your leaves and then it becomes very cold?" 

"That will never happen. You see the man who plants the trees puts us with people who have different blooming cycles. That way, even in our coldest of winters, there is always another tree next to us who helps keep us warm." 

The boy pondered on this for a moment, and he began to wonder who keeps him warm in his coldest winters. 

The boy continued on his journey. It quickly became night. He laid down and began to try to sleep. At that moment he saw a flicker of light. He looked up and he saw lights flickering all around the forest. 

"What is that light?" Asked the boy. 

"We are fireflies," said one of the lights. 

"Why do you light up?"

"We light up because when it is dark, someone needs to see." 

"Do you ever forget to light up?" 

"No, when we forget to show our light, that is when we forget who we are." 

The boy thought about this for a moment. Maybe he had forgotten his light. 

When the sun came up, he continued on his journey but kept looking at all the trees. Each one had a different color and shape, but they all worked together to make a forest. As he wandered, he walked into a part of the forest that was dense with butterflies. Butterflies of all different shapes, sizes, and colors. He began to think about the butterflies. 

"I wish I could be as beautiful as these butterflies. How gracefully they fly, and how drawn people are to them," said the boy. 

"If you want to be like us," replied a butterfly, "you have to endure a cocoon." 

"What does that mean?" 

"It means that before we are butterflies, we are Caterpillars. We have to be in a cocoon for weeks. Each dealing with our own problems and eventually, when we have changed, we leave the cocoon and become butterflies." 

"What happens to change you?" Asked the boy. 

"The only thing that changes is the way we see ourselves. For when we view ourselves as beautiful, graceful butterflies, the rest of the world does as well." 

The boy thought about this for a long time as he watched the butterflies. Perhaps, he thought, that maybe he already was a butterfly but the only one who couldn't see that was him. 

The continued on his journey. When the night had come, the boy sat down. As he looked around the dark he noticed that there was a ghost next to him. The boy began to be scared. 

"Why do you keep haunting me?" Asked the boy. 

"I am not haunting you," replied the ghost. 

"Yes, you are. Every time I try to go to sleep you are there keeping me up at night and won’t let me be. I am tired of being afraid of you."

"Look at me."

The boy looked at the ghost a little closer and realized that it was him.

"But you are me," said the boy, a little surprised. 

"Yes, because you are your own ghost. I keep coming to you because you wont let yourself go. If you would face your past and let it go, we both would be able to rest." 

"Alright, but how do I do that?" Asked the boy. 

"You just do. You start living for today, and stop thinking about the past." 

So the boy decided to let go of his ghost and they went their separate ways and rested. The boy stopped thinking about his past that day. 

When the sun came up, the boy began to continue on his journey. He began to see the beauty in the dark and lonely forest. Things were changing. Flowers grew, where there once were thorns. Songbirds began to sing, where there once was no music. The trees began to be more spread apart. 

Finally, one day as the boy was walking, he saw an opening in the woods. He finally saw where the woods would end. He ran towards the opening as fast as he could. When he finally made it outside of the woods, he found himself in an open field. The boy looked around the field. And saw nothing but bright blue skies and open air. He had finally made it out of the forest. Looking around, the boy realized that it was over. 

"How quickly time passed in the forest," said the boy. 

The boy looked around some more. He didn't know what was up ahead on his quest to find happiness, but he began to think that maybe he had already found it. All he knew was that he was out of the forest, and had a whole world to explore now. 

"Maybe," said the boy, "the forest wasn't bad at all. Perhaps, it was good that I went through there."