A Brilliant Adaptation
The other day I was reading an interesting article in the New York Times about the British adventurer/explorer Alastair Humphries. In it, he spoke about how his highly ambitious globetrotting habits had been reined in, first by the needs of his young family, and then by the pandemic.
Rather than give up exploring, he made a brilliant adaptation. He decided to explore places he’d never been that were within a mile of his home. I loved the way he put it: “I decided to treat everything as interesting.”
When I read that line, I thought my head might explode. The sheer brilliance of it was like an ice-cold shower on a hot day. I love simple answers. They tend to clarify things in a way complicated answers can’t.
“I decided to treat everything as interesting” is much more than just a brilliant strategy; it’s a recipe for an interesting life that always seems brand new.
When life seems brand new to us, we’re in a position to see the truth in things that, until now, we may have missed. That particular sensation, that “brand newness” engages our curiosity. When we’re curious, how can life seem anything but interesting?
This seemingly tiny shift in focus can instantly transform what seems like a humdrum moment in a humdrum day to a day practically overflowing with fascinating surprises.
As we go through our lives, it can be easy to fall into any number of ruts. When we’re in a rut, our curiosity goes dormant. Without curiosity, as you take the same walk, the same drive, the same commute you’ve taken many times before, what will appear to you will be an experience exactly like the last time you did it. That feeling of sameness is fueled by our failure to notice the experience we’re having right this minute.
Taking a different route couldn’t be easier. It’s simply a question of letting your natural curiosity rise to the surface. Here’s what happens when you do that: you get yourself to notice your life as it exists right this very moment. Now you’re having a fresh experience, instead of feeling like you’re trapped in the movie, Groundhog Day, endlessly re-living the same old walk, drive, or commute.
Groundhog Day is a funny movie. It’s been around for a long time, so you may have seen it any number of times. Would you ever want to live that hellish scenario?
Without knowing it, that’s what many of us do. We assume we know in advance what a particular experience is going to be like, so we fail to notice our own lives. The result? Groundhog Day is a life that has the same feel as the movie.
Noticing, really letting yourself notice your life lets you see you have a choice. You can live the same dreary day over and over, or you can live enthralled by life’s wonders. When you let everything be interesting, your curiosity blooms and life’s wonders become part of your everyday experience. What could you possibly give yourself that could be a nicer gift?
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