On The Importance of Going Somewhere New

Greetings once more!

This post I want to focus on one of my "theme days", specifically my "Go Somewhere New" day.  This happens to be Tuesday for me, but honestly I have been trying to squeeze it in where ever I can.  I will start by asking a question to you, my readers...

When was the last time you went somewhere new?

Was it to a new restaurant?    Perhaps to a new city or country while travelling?  Perhaps the time you got lost trying to follow Google maps and drove through a charming neighborhood by accident?  Maybe you got lost and ended up in the "bad part of town"...  What do all of these things have in common?

We remember them.  They stand out in the fog of our memory as singular events.  They shake up the old, the routine, the expected.  They agitate the the brain in the same way exercise and hard work agitates the body, causing it to grow and expand in order to meet the new challenges presented to it.  I firmly believe that people that continue to expose themselves to new ideas, new places, new people continue to live and to grow.  Once we stop doing those things, we become fossilized, our brains, bodies, minds and souls atrophying from lack of stimulus.

For me it is also something to look forward to.  After living in Scotts Valley for close to two years, and working here for over fifteen, I now know many of its secret hiking trails, it's hidden neighborhoods, and its seemingly endless lots full of RVs.  As I am getting into brewing, I went to Discretion Brewing the other day to write some more of my book.  While there I struck up a conversation with the extremely helpful and friendly staff, mentioned I was getting into home brew and was impressed with their setup, so they offered to give me a tour of the place.  I got to check out their entire operation, chat with their assistant brewer, and left feeling stoked for having done so.

I also totally understand and value the importance of s schedule.  People have to go to work.  We have to pick up our kids, run the errands, and take care of whatever other responsibilities we may have acquired during our time on this planet.  Such as grooming winged monkeys - they are very particular about their plumage it turns out.  All of that is fine, but where ever possible, see if you can sneak some new into your life.  Maybe it will be something small, like taking a new route home from work or school.  Maybe it will be huge, like deciding to travel to a new country on a lark.  Who knows.

My challenge to you is this - try going someplace new in the next.  Then tell me what you thought of it.  Challenge me back.  Let's live a little.  Lets live a lot.