It's easy to find comfort in things which are familiar. I'm sure we've all found ourselves ordering the same things off the menu, taking the same routes to work each morning, getting into the habit of watching the same shows and re-runs day after day. When I was younger I recognized the necessity to try new things, but I did need some help to get out of my rut. It was others which breathed perspective into me.
An example from my life my not be the best, but it can help with the feeling of the daily routine. When I was in the Netherlands for nearly two years, I spent most of the day on buses, trams, or trains going from appointment to appointment. There wasn't much time to get out and actually experience the culture, or so I thought. One day, I was traveling on a bus in the afternoon on a busy day and someone sat down next to me. For some reason, I made a kind gesture and we started a conversation. We didn't really talk about much, but I remember that I felt more involved with life having just met someone new. Each day after that, I made it a goal to talk to someone different everyday, but just to talk about what they wanted to and not talk about myself. It was tricky at first, but I actually began to enjoy it. Eventually as I became more open to conversation, people actually started talking to me. I treated each person as a friend, someone that I hadn't seen in a long time, picking up where we left off. This has stuck with me ever since. Whether sitting in an airplane or waiting for a bus, being friendly can have rich effects on your life and how you feel. Many of the people that I've met have ranged from bankers, helicopter pilots, doctors, students, tourists, and many others which had interesting stories to tell.
Another story happened while I was in Tokyo. While my brother and I were looking for a place to eat it was getting dark so we walked into a nearby ramen shop. Being two tall Americans, we more than stood out. When we were seated, we looked at the menu, pointed at something that looked decent, and took in the environment. Moments later, a man came in and was seated next to me. I didn't think it would be polite to not try to start a conversation, so in my bad Japanese I said, "Nice weather, yes?" and this man's eyes lit up. We began a nice conversation and we finished our meals at about the same time. To make a memory of the moment, I had my brother take a photo of this man and me. While we walked to the cashier to pay, this man grabbed our check and said in his broken English, "You send me a copy of that photo, I'm paying for your food." It was a moment that I will never forget.
I only ever got to see the Windmills a couple times in the Netherlands, I only went to Tokyo Disneyland once, and those memories are nice, but it was the people that I remember most. It is impossible to imagine what will happen each day and how it might affect your life. There are so many new people to meet, languages to learn, and places to go. But when it comes to meeting new people, I've always maintained that you need to be able to communicate with someone in the manner which best suits them. To truly understand their perspective, you need to speak THEIR language. My personal theme for this post is to get out of the routine, try something different and be open to new experiences. It's your life to live.
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