Explorer or Adventurer?

I was sitting with a group of people the other day discussing the difference between an explorer and an adventurer. I have been tossing this idea around in my head all week so here are my thoughts...
My mind paused when I first heard the question, “what is the difference between an adventurer and an explorer?” Those two words have always been interchangeable for me. I have always wanted to be an “adventurous” person...someone willing to step out into the unknown....someone willing to explore areas that have never been explored before. However, as our conversation developed, I realized that there is definitely a difference between an “explorer” and an “adventurer.”
One of the main differences we discussed was the purpose. The purpose of an adventurer is to experience something exciting, daring, challenging. The purpose of an explorer is to discover, learn, obtain. It seems to me like the adventurer lives for the moment...creating experiences in order to have a new thrill. The purpose of an explorer is to discover something new, someone who loves to learn. I think of an explorer as someone who experiences life and an adventurer as someone who creates experiences. An explorer seems to live their life greatly enjoying the journey that leads to a destination they are passionate about getting to and an adventurer seems to be jumping from one destination to the other. Those who explore life, naturally encounter adventure, risk, danger, excitement, and thrill—but they do not live for it. The focus of one only brings fulfillment to self, the focus of the other shares that fulfillment with those they come in contact with.
I want to be an explorer. I want to spend my life discovering, learning, and creating new trails...hopefully making it a little easier for people to follow...so that I can more powerfully share Christ’s love with this world. I want to experience adventure, risk, and danger...but not for the purpose of a thrill...I want to experience those things so that I can have more tools and more opportunities to share the message of God’s unfailing love with people.
I think it is easy to get bored when you are living for adventure. You constantly have to move from one exciting moment to the next, seeking something new for you to experience. When you are exploring life...you enjoy every moment that God allows you to experience. Every thing you do, whether extremely risky and exciting or just every day mundane activities, you see as a clue to this journey you are on that you can share with other people...to help make their journey a little easier.
When your focus is on your self, people just become something that contributes to your next adventure. They are something you use to excite and entertain you, eventually you grow bored with them and move on to your next “exciting adventure.” However, when your focus is on God and sharing His love with His children, people become something that helps you discover more and more of God’s love, they become part of the purpose of your journey.
The most amazing thing to me is this—when we truly live out life in this way, seeking to explore life and share God’s love...he will weave the most amazing adventures into our journey...so we can discover even more about His infinite love.