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"Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing", once remarked Helen Keller, and yet most of us, with all our facilities for perceiving the world intact, would merely shake their heads and get on with the daily routine. The older we get, the easier it can become to trudge through life on autopilot, with a weary acceptance of the responsibilities of mortgage, job and whatnot. However, for one who truly realises life's value, every moment is precious and every day is an opportunity to do something special! Here are a couple of things you can do to truly awaken yourself to the beauty of life again:

1. Write it down

As soon as you get up write down three things you have never done before, that you always wanted to do, that youve never done before due to lack of time or some other reason. It doesn't matter if it's something completely pie-in-the-sky; just write it down anyway. Writing it down creates an inner momentum for things to happen - some part of you looks at what you've just written and thinks "well, maybe I could..."

2. Explore your own potential

A good friend of mine, Martin Leitner, who also gives meditation classes with the Dublin Sri Chinmoy Centre, likes to compare human beings to Porsches (he's had a car fascination ever since childhood). The problem, as he sees it, is that we spend our whole lives dawdling around in first gear, when we can just put our foot on the throttle and drive the car like it was meant to be driven! There are so many things out there that could take you to your creative or athletic limits - do a marathon, join a theatre group, take up a yoga class, the list is endless. Don't let the sheer number of choices boggle you - go with your inner feeling, pick one, and see how you get on!

3. Don't listen to the doubting voices - yours or anyone elses!

Part of the adventure is setting yourself challenges - things you've never done before - and seeing it through. Of course, your mind will naturally start to panic and protest that it can't do it - but what the mind is really be afraid of is being pulled out of its comfort zone. Seeing as I've already quoted Martin in this article, I might as well quote another illustration he uses in his meditation classes which I like very much - when you were a child learning to walk, you tried countless times, and fell down again. For weeks and months your whole life was trying to stand up and walk and falling down again. And then one day you managed to take your first few steps. You succeeded. But that was because your mind was not developed. Can you imagine if your mind was developed? After the first few attempts, you would tell yourself to give up, that you'll never be able to walk. And that would be the end of it. You may laugh, but it will be the exact same thing happening with whatever challenge you inevitably come up against as you try and expand yourself. And it's up to you whether to decide to give up or not.

4. See the world through a child's eyes.

A child sees the world through his heart. Everything is new, everything is spontaneous, everything is an adventure. If he gets into a dispute with someone, he doesn't nurse a grudge for the rest of his natural life, he has the argument and then forgets about it. It is only when the mind starts developing that our view of the world becomes tired and jaded. When you go beyond the mind to the heart, you can begin to rediscover some of this newness, vibrancy and spontaneity. We will all have bumpy patches along the road of life, but a childlike mind that does not cling to the past helps you ride out these patches, pick yourself up, and get on with fulfilling your dreams.

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