Finding my inner child helped me connect with the world

A worldwide scavenger hunt has opened Fatima Al Shamsi's eyes to the forgotten benefits of play and spontonaeus actions.

Fatima Al Shamsi and actor William Shatner both reaped the rewards of participating in an international scavenger hunt. Photo: AFP / Stephane Danna

What could William Shatner, Star Wars stormtroopers, breaking world records, random acts of kindness between strangers and I have in common? The answer is the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen, or GISHWHES.

It began last Saturday and will end tomorrow: a week-long annual competitive scavenger hunt that started out as a publicity stunt several years ago by actor Misha Collins to promote his television show Supernatural. It now involves other celebrities like Shatner and thousands of courageous troopers around the world.

Through blood, sweat and tears – but mainly laughter, as I’ve come to find out – participants are placed in 15-person teams and asked to complete more than 150 tasks and document them through multi­media submissions.

Points are awarded for every task and the winning team joins Collins on an all-expenses paid holiday. While, as a current Gisher, I am not at liberty to discuss this year’s tasks until the hunt is over, previous tasks have ranged from the charitable –such as visiting a children’s hospital and putting on a puppet show – to the wonderfully absurd: eating a sandwich while in a skydiving simulator.

The overall idea is to do a bit of good in the world, have a crazy amount of fun doing it, learn to laugh at yourself and, most importantly, make new friends.

Without even thinking of the possibility of winning, my sister and I decided to participate on a whim a few days before the hunt began. Since day one I’ve felt something amazing take over me.

For someone who believes that the internet and social media can be an evil, soul-sucking monster that has caused a very bizarre form of social isolation, over the past few days I have been privy to the absolute awesomeness of technology. Due to the ease of communication these days, distance is rarely an obstacle to achieving goals, no matter how absurd.

Perhaps it is the time constraint for finishing these tasks that has me letting go of all previously held inhibitions, but I’ve quickly learnt to “lean into the discomfort” as I run around Abu Dhabi, sometimes in costume, trying to find all the required props, soliciting help from people I would otherwise have never spoken to. The world really is my oyster and I am limited only by the belief in what is or isn’t possible. It might seem counter-intuitive, but a little public humiliation can go a long way in boosting your self-confidence and helping you with social anxiety.

With the need to collect over 180 items glaring me in the face, I don’t have time to psych myself out. Instead, I find myself enjoying the rush of stepping out of my comfort zone. Sometimes learning that not everything is so serious is a serious matter. Life goes by quickly and you really do not know what you are capable of doing until you try.

The past few days have reminded me how much I’ve truly missed the kind of play I did as a child. As I’m planning photoshoots and designing costumes, I’m remembering what it’s like to be equipped with childlike resourcefulness as I transform ordinary household objects into extraordinary things.

At school I used to seek inspiration from my creative hobbies. But over the past few months my painting equipment and guitars have slowly accumulated dust in the corner. I’ve decided to make it a habit again to make time for music and art. They not only function as a release but I find myself more motivated and stimulated for all my other tasks once I get my creative juices flowing.

Most importantly, the experience has taught me how complete strangers can be helpful. We forget sometimes that the world is a mixed batch and as much bad as there can be, there is an overwhelmingly amount of good. There is no truer joy than having a complete stranger be willing to help out with a ridiculous request. It seems most people are just itching to join in on the fun.

Best of all, these random acts of kindness really do have a domino-affect. The more no-strings-attached type generosity you receive, the more you are willing to share.

Making the world a better and more enjoyable place is not restricted to making sizeable donations to charity. We all have at our disposal the ability to spread positivity in daily acts of kindness once we learn that we are only limited by our minds.

Fatima Al Shamsi is an Emirati who recently returned from New York City after pursuing a master’s ­degree in Global Affairs at New York ­University