Sometimes we all need a jump start. A leap into the right direction, or any direction at all.

That’s just where I was when I came across a mystical little book enticingly titled “How to Be an Explorer of the World.” Big promises, right? I was skeptical myself…and then I looked inside.

The word “book” may not even be the right term, really, as this small manual really serves as a tool to scrape away the crust of disdain we all wear as time moves on: annoyances we can’t release, negative thought processes we harbor, the boring habits we maintain. Without realizing we’re doing so, we make routine the elimination of opportunities to engage in the world around us (think texting while walking, Facebooking on the train, zoning out with an iPod). The back cover of the book alone reminds us:

At any given moment, no matter where you are, there are hundreds of things around you that are interesting and worth documenting

How frequently do we miss out by disengaging with our surroundings?

As it turns out…a whole lot, and this book/manual/adventuring tour de force serves to show you just how to regain your inherent ability to explore. Take, for instance, Exploration #19:

While on your travels, come up with as many things as you can find to use as pigment (adding water if necessary). Some examples include crushed berries, mud (using different kinds of dirt), crushed leaves, spices.

By shifting our paradigm from one of privilege (I need paint and so will buy some at the store), to one of childlike exploration (what can I use in order to create?), we not only become more aware, but we tap into the ingenuity of the great minds which came before us. After all, is not observation one of the main facets of science? Art? Innovation?

The truth is, you are an adventurer. By virtue of being human and figuring out this vast, wild life, you are an explorer, and a good one at that. Sometimes it just takes a little reminding (and maybe an ordered list or two).