“Sometimes the most scenic roads in life are the detours you didn't mean to take.” ~Angela N. Blount, Once Upon an Ever After
How much of our day is spent doing things the way we’ve always done them? How we shower. How we dress. How we approach a new day the minute our eyes open—what we think, what we do in the first ten minutes.
There are so many things we do automatically, unconsciously, just because that’s our way of doing certain things and we don’t give it a second thought.
I was cutting a corner, literally, on my walk a few weeks ago when I realized that by doing so, I would miss a good ten seconds in the shade. It’s hot! What was I thinking?
The truth is, I wasn’t thinking at all. I don’t purposely take a shortcut on that walk. I do my walk how I always do it and at this one particular place, I cut the corner. It became a habitual part of my route several years ago—probably when we moved in and I’ve never deviated.
It made me wonder how many other shortcuts I’m taking and gifts I’m missing, without even realizing it’s happening?
When we cut corners, we might save a little time, money or miles, but we might be doing so at the expense of missing a gift. Shortcuts may not always be the best course to take in the long run, or at least not every time without considering what an alternate route, method or approach may have to offer.
On the next walk, after I realized what I was doing at that corner, I almost did it again, twice. I walk three laps around my small neighborhood and it took three times for me to remember in advance that I wanted to take the corner differently and enjoy the shade for a few seconds.
I’ve walked a few times since then and I still have to remind myself that I want to go straight a little longer before turning right. With awareness, we can change almost anything. And if we can’t change our outer circumstances, we can always change our internal responses.
Being flexible is a gift in itself. We learn there are multiple ways to accomplish the same thing.
When we’re intent on noticing more, we are present more, which means we are bound to find more unexpected gifts than when we’re operating on autopilot.
Slow down today and become curious about how and where you’re walking through life automatically. Look for interesting ways to mix things up. Happy noticing and experimenting!
