Restless, and in desperate need of adventure, I quit my job at

In the words of Mink Stole, spoken with candor and fire, we hear the cry of one who could not bear the chains of the ordinary: “Restless, and in desperate need of adventure, I quit my job at an insurance company to travel west with a couple of guys I smoked pot with, scandalizing my family.” What sounds, at first, like a rebellious tale of youth is in truth a hymn to freedom, to risk, and to the eternal human longing to cast off the gray robes of conformity and seek the unknown.

The word restless is the seed of all great journeys. It is the stirring within the soul that refuses to be silenced, the hunger that makes the safe life unbearable. In every age, the heroes of legend began their journeys not because they were comfortable, but because they could not remain still. Just as Odysseus longed for the sea, just as the pioneers longed for the horizon, so too did Stole feel the ancient summons of motion. This restlessness, though troubling, is often the first whisper of destiny.

To yearn for adventure is to choose a road fraught with risk, but rich with possibility. The job at the insurance company—symbol of order, stability, and predictability—was abandoned so that a wilder, truer life might be pursued. Such choices scandalize the cautious, but they are the lifeblood of those who dream. History teaches us that security without meaning is a gilded cage, and adventure without certainty often leads to self-discovery. The choice to quit safety for uncertainty is the ancient gamble that fuels all stories worth telling.

Her decision to travel west carries echoes of myth and history. In the lore of America, “west” has always meant freedom, possibility, and the frontier of the unknown. From the settlers who crossed the Appalachians to the seekers of gold in California, the westward road has symbolized new beginnings. To go west is not merely to change geography but to abandon the old life for the promise of transformation. In Stole’s words, we hear that same archetypal journey—the spirit of the wanderer who will not be caged.

The detail of scandalizing the family is no small note. Every great departure wounds those who remain, for it breaks the bonds of expectation. The Buddha left his father’s palace to seek enlightenment; St. Francis renounced his father’s wealth to live in holy poverty. In each case, the family was shocked, even shamed, for the road of freedom is often mistaken for folly. Yet scandal is the mark of courage, the proof that one has chosen authenticity over appearance, truth over comfort.

Consider the tale of Christopher McCandless, who abandoned wealth and home to wander the wilds of North America, seeking purity and meaning beyond the walls of society. Though his journey ended in tragedy, his story endures because it speaks to that same restlessness that Stole confessed. To leave behind what others value, in search of what only your soul desires, is an act both perilous and profound. It may shock others, but it is often the only way to truly live.

The lesson is clear: do not fear restlessness, nor the scandal it brings. If your heart cries out for adventure, do not silence it with the comforts of routine. To travel west, or east, or inward into your own soul, is to honor the call of life itself. Yes, the world may judge, and family may frown, but better to live a scandalous truth than a quiet lie.

So I say to you: when the fire of restlessness stirs within you, listen to it. When the thirst for adventure rises, do not dismiss it as folly. Quit the job if it chains your spirit, travel west if the horizon beckons, and do not fear the scandal that comes with daring. For though the road is uncertain, it is in walking it that you will find not only the world, but yourself.