My stomach twirls in anticipation.

The countdown began weeks ago, building steadily to the crescendo of electricity I feel in my body right now. The flurry of phone calls, e-mails, packing gear, and shopping for last minute items has reached its peak.

In a few hours, my adventure begins.

I’ll be kayaking and island camping the length of Lake George, a beautiful 33-mile lake I have grown up around here in upstate New York. The idea came to me months ago, a celebration of summer, life, and my turning 40 later in the month.

I told friends of my plans – the trip was an open invitation, the more the merrier, I’d say. Most expressed enthusiasm at the idea, but as time passed and I checked on their commitment level, no one was giving me an unequivocal “yes.” I’d tell them that they need not commit, that I was planning to do the trip whether or not anyone accompanied me.

But looking back, that’s probably not true. I wanted company. It’s simply more fun to share an adventure.

My friend Chris lives in Washington, DC. He’s among my closest friends for a simple reason – like me, he’s always up for a good time. And equally as important, he takes the necessary actions to allow good times in his life. I had been talking to Chris about my plans and he expressed his interest right away. The only issue would be the timing as Chris travels around the globe for his work and would need to find the space. When would I be going, he asked?

Late July? Or sometime in August? I sputtered. In my answer to him, I understood that I had not committed to my own adventure. I had the intention for it to happen, sure. But without taking that first action of setting a date, the power of inertia would decrease the likelihood of my intention coming to fruition with each passing day. Chris and I got off the phone with hope and desire, but still no real plan.

Moments later, an e-mail from Chris hit my inbox. It was his flight itinerary to my local airport for July 30th and the following message:

Southwest having deals now. Figured I hit it. Hard. And then figure out the details later.
No worries, no pressure. If it turns out, for any reason that these dates have to change or whatnot, you can just eat the costs. :}

And with that action, that commitment, that first step, the adventure morphed from intention to reality. His e-mail arrived two months ago, and since that time the details have all unfolded. (In fact, unfolding of these details, the planning of the logistics has been a great source of joy for me.)

All of our desires begin with a thought, but these desires come to life through action, a first step.

I pick Chris up at the airport tomorrow. And I cannot wait.