The Joy of the Side Quest

I didn't start out as someone who carried a sketchpad with me everywhere I went, but a decade or so ago, I fell into drawing, which led me to watercolor. A pottery wheel was not far behind. It's a diversion I never saw coming, but one that now takes up quite a bit of my spare time. In fact, I don't go anywhere without at least two sketchpads and a small tray of pencils.

Recently I learned that the gaming community has a name for what I've apparently been doing for years: the side quest. In addition to the player's main mission (build an island, complete a journey across rough terrain), players can wander off along the way to pursue smaller, optional adventures.

Most of our days are filled with main quests: assignments, destinations, and tasks to be checked off, from the day-to-day (get groceries, do the laundry) to the long-term (start a business, buy a home). But what about the side quests?

As it turns out, I'm good at side questing. I will happily alter my route for an impromptu visit to a lauded ice cream shop. I've been known to take off for the beach with my wife and watercolors simply because it seems like a good day to paint. A good chili dog can justify a surprising number of extra miles, and if someone tells me there's an exceptional cannoli somewhere, well, I'm probably going to need the address.

I've often wondered what feeds my side questing. Could it be curiosity? Curiosity gives us permission to explore, to slow down long enough to pursue an experience without first knowing if it will be worth our time. (Though let's be serious. A cannoli is always worth the time.)

Driving a moving truck around California and across the country has certainly provided plenty of opportunity to feed my curiosity. After all the years and miles, some of the things I remember best are not the destinations. They're the unexpected discoveries I found along the way. And yes, they are in my sketchpads.

Are side quests worth the time? “What's the payoff?” you may be asking. Admittedly, we don't always know. And that's the point.

Just the other day, my wife pointed out how, within a tangle of deeply shaded branches in a neighborhood oak tree, a ray of sunshine lit up a group of leaves. I have to admit, years ago, before I was taught by an art professor “how to see,” I would not have “seen” what she was pointing out.

So as summer begins to give way to fall, perhaps this is a good time to take on a side quest. You never know what you're going to “see.”