The votes are in and I’m not going to win any prizes for launching into a vigorous habit of doing something new every day. As you know, that was my self-imposed challenge last week to widen and broaden my life. Although I’m always tempted to lie if it will make me look better, I’ve decided that one of the things I won’t do in this blog is lie. So, here’s how it went.
Monday, I started strong with a visit to the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford to see an exhibit on California waters. I thought it was going to be photo retrospective of some of the awe-inspiring water scenes here but it was a disappointing collection of paintings and pictures of canals and dams. Sigh. Tuesday, I did try a new mediation app (that only barely counts). Wednesday, I met a few new people where I volunteer (again not a huge effort to “broaden my world with new and interesting people”). During the week, I also threw in a few “new” movies and TV shows, but nothing worth recommending. Thursday, I started reading a new book, and Saturday I tried to attend the United National Film Festival, but got times/locations screwed up so that was an epic fail (classic user error!). By Sunday, I was back to the same old, same old. Don’t get me wrong, my status quo is very good and I am very grateful for it. But I do feel the need to keep pushing myself out of my comfort zone.
So what did I learn from my little experiment? First of all, new and different things aren’t guaranteed to be fun or thrilling or even all that interesting, like my Cantor Arts experience. But I did enjoy strolling through some other exhibits, especially a light installation exhibit and the Rodin sculpture garden. Second, I’m gratified and amazed by the sheer abundance of reading, listening, and viewing materials at my disposal. It reminds me that I have to be very intentional about where and how I choose to spend my time. Similarly, actively searching out new things to see and do takes effort. Details matter. It doesn’t just happen. Finally, I did like the feeling that I was being a really active curator of my life, even if the results were less than stellar. It reminds me that I’m 100% responsible for the life I have so I best get busy if there is something I want more of in mine. (See yesterday’s blog).
My take-away from the week is that I was perhaps both overly ambitious and under prepared. So I’ve outlined a more modest set of experiences I’d like to try and have them calendared (with correct times and locations) for November. Hope springs eternal. Have you tried anything new lately?
Boonedoggler 