I love mentoring. It gives me an opportunity to help someone identify their strengths. And then work forward from them. Today I was working with an adventurer who is stuck in a pattern of being a homesteader. It was great to identify the differences. Because that means an old pattern can be left behind. Also a new pattern can emerge.

So what do I mean when I say homesteader or adventurer? One way of looking at life is to work out where I draw my energy from. In what ways do I want to serve my community? And how does that make me feel? Because the best source of energy comes from doing something I am passionate about. Yet I might be doing things that actually drain my energy. So checking what I like to do alongside what makes me feel stuck or bored will show me the best energy for me. Homesteaders like to serve and protect their community. They start from the basis that they are here to nurture and provide. They are also concerned to create stability especially for the more immature around them.

Whereas adventurers like to be on the move. They look for new information or opportunities. Adventurers go out into the world to discover useful things for the community. They act as guides and foragers. Their aim is to create a steady flow of abundance. They are more comfortable with uncertainty and can keep their wits about them. Of course, I understand we need both the homesteaders and the adventurers. It’s what keeps a community vibrant. But if I am a homesteader I will want certainty. That can mean rigid rules, set beliefs and a focus on the inward facing of the community. Adventurers are quite different. I would need opportunities to find new resources, to travel outside the community and to explore new ideas.

This is where being a homesteader in an adventurer’s role makes for a challenging life pattern. Or vice versa.

A homesteader has her intuition tuned to the safety of the community. An adventurer has her intuition tuned to what is outside the community. If I am linked to the wrong intuitive flow my pattern will be distorted and disrupted. I might feel very unsettled. Life might not seem like it’s full of synchronicity. In fact I might be passing up all sorts of choices that would suit me better. Homesteaders tend too like everything to stay the same. Adventurers tend to want change. I believe we need both. I benefit when I have a reliable home base, perhaps a feeling inside me of certainty about the world, that I can return to. It is how I am grounded into being human.

I also benefit from the inspiration that comes with being open to new influences. My world can expand and grow as I take on more of these ideas. I can create from a sense of a bigger picture. Ideally I will be able to swap from one type to the other as needed. But it’s often the case that this more fluid flow of energy is missed. I have spent chunks of my life trying to be a homesteader when I forgot to honour that I am actually an adventurer. I need to be on the move in some way. When I finally recognised my underlying type, and what made me feel passionate, I started to change my life to include plenty of adventuring. Now I feel that I have a better balance too. I can be a part of my community in both ways.

Deciding if you are a homesteader or an adventurer may be a little simplistic. There are a lot of other factors to consider. Yet it’s a good way to identify where you might feel unfulfilled, stuck or restless. Or where your current patterns and habits are keeping you from a more creative, expansive life. Understanding these types gives you more choice. I’m all for that. So, which type are you?

Day 845 of my blogging challenge