I think it is common for people to ask how you are coping in these strange uncertain moments of staying in at home. It is now coming two months since I last step in to my work place, gone to the city, patronize restaurants or just walking down any streets and admiring the view. The only view I have been feasting my eyes on are the houses from my kitchen, the food that my neighbors have been cooking up, and the streets of my neighborhood in the morning or evening.
I wonder, how often do we get bored with our lives and the things we do, repetitively. Like getting up at a certain time each day, catching the same bus, getting off at the same stop, doing the same routine day after day. I am sure there are some of us who do not welcome change because change is uncomfortable, the outcomes can be uncertain, it can be challenging and most of all frightening! But, what if change is exciting? It opens the doors to possibilities taking place. A small change each time helps us build on our courage and leave fear behind. Accepting change becomes easier and builds on our emotional resilience. Change allows us to see new perspectives, meet new people, try new things, and feel new surroundings. It keeps our senses and our souls ALIVE, CURIOUS and EXCITED!
I make it a point to not always follow the same routine each day when we could still travel to work then. Some days, I would take a long walk, try out different routes, and some days I just take the bus straight home. Even then, I would do different stops and different bus. I guess I am just not a person who likes the same kind of routine each day. I thrive on change, new perspectives and views as it keeps me excited and challenged. The only time I stick to a routine, is the schedule I now have since we began working from home. Morning walks, meditation, shower, coffee, work, write, calls, evening walks or just grounding work at my back yard, meditation and sleep. This routine has helped me to be more productive as working from home can be mentally challenging.
However, I carve out the change that I know is helpful for my brain to be creative, curious, excited and motivated. This keeps me in a state of positivity, awe and gratitude. Each morning when I walk past the houses in my neighborhood, I try to practice my walking meditation, where I take in the sight of the trees, flowers, grass/weeds, birds, designs of the houses, the sky, the heat, the clouds, the ground on which I walk upon etc. I realize that I don't make it a point to "actively" memorize the names of the streets or the house numbers or which street I am on. I know that there are about 3 long horizontal streets and about 5 shorter vertical streets in between, and that isn't actually much ground to walk about, which also means one can cover the grounds in less than an hour. By not "actively" remembering the streets or the houses, I train my mind to be at awe at every street I turn into. If I walked to the end of the street, and I turn back, I actually see a lot of new things I miss out on my walk up, and I see a new perspective. By not "actively" remembering the streets and houses, I am also training my mind to be excited at every new thing that I see, to admire and be grateful of everything I see. It also means I don't get bored at seeing the same old things over and over again.
Tell me, would you prefer change or routine and I can tell you if you prefer comfort over change, mundane over excitement. We only live once, make it the best one you've ever lived, and you will not regret anything on your last breath.
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