I love travel!
I love adventure and trying new things. I was talking to a friend about this the other day and gained some new insights I thought I would share.
I love to discover new places. I love finding out how to navigate a new city or find the best market to shop at. I love finding restaurants and trying the local favorites. I love being immersed in another culture. It’s all so new and different.
Now, I’ve been at home for months with no actual travel plans on the calendar. Eek! How do I keep that “alive” feeling when I’m not traveling? My friend told me that this feeling I love is because being somewhere new makes you more present. You are more in the moment than you are in your day to day routine. You are soaking in the details, using all your senses to take it all in and remember that moment. You are there, mind, body and spirit. When you are at home you may have a routine or already know everything that is around you in your home, office or car. You don’t have to be as “in the moment” to keep yourself going in the right direction to get home. You often go on auto pilot and don’t even notice anything in your path. So, my new challenge is to be more present in my day to day life and to have more “local” adventures at “home”.
My goals for being at home:
- Setting my phone aside and being present in my in person meetings.
- Go on more walks in my neighborhood and just look at things (look up, look down, left, right). I do often do this with the photographers eye but I’d like to do it with the grateful eye or the “in the moment” eye too.
- Cultivate more awareness everyday, not just on the days I am somewhere new.
I challenge you to do the same if you also like that “alive” feeling. To me, that’s the only way to live. Living is being outside your comfort zone, it’s pushing your boundaries. It’s about constantly growing, having new experiences — even if you’ve done something 1,000 times — I’m sure you can still see something new. How about walking a different block or street. Driving a new street home. Eating at a new restaurant. Going to a meet up. Look for new things. Don’t just go on auto pilot. Life is about living!
What are you doing to challenge yourself in this realm? I’d love for you to leave a comment.
Today I ran until I could find a pink path. That was a fun challenge.