The World Is My Rat Park

I promise I don't plan on doing too many of these types of posts, so bare with me.

The other day there was a Facebook share from a friend that caught my eye because it really does apply to this project I'm calling Rogue Wanderer. The post by Michelle Lewis discussed a study by Bruce K. Alexander he called Rat Park. I promise you I have not checked the validity of the study and I don't know if it is peer-reviewed. I speak from a purely anecdotal point of view.

To sum up the study:

• Rat group 1 is in a cage with nothing to do. They are exposed to two bottles of water. One is pure drinking water and the other is laced with cocaine. The rats can't get enough of the cocaine water and barely touch the regular water. This group either finishes all the cocaine water or OD's in the process.
• Rat group 2 gets a rat utopia. These rats are given space to roam, plenty of exercise equipment, exposure to other rats, and other fun activities. These rats stick mostly to the regular water and stay off the cocaine water. The live happy, healthy rat lives. 

So...how does this apply to this blog, or company, or website, or foolhardy dream I've decided to start? Before we began going on these weekend adventures, I lived in the boring cage. This is a cage I referred to as the "Ahwatukee Bubble". The bubble consisted of my apartment, the complex pool, 2 sports bars, and local dance club all within a 2 mile area. While occupying the bubble most weekend nights included having drinks at one of these five locations. I wouldn't say I was on my way to becoming a "friend of Bill W" but I wasn't really living life.

A girlfriend to push me, a tent to sleep in, a sleeping bag and blankets to stay warm, and a smartphone to guide the way and just like that the world became my rat park. The cage was opened. The "bubble" had burst.

Since we started wandering I can count the number of nights I've gone drinking on one hand. More importantly, I can't say this bothers me. I don't look forward to the weekends so that I can pull up a bar stool to unwind from a stressful week anymore. I look forward to the weekends so I can wander around in the rat park.