Changing Things

"Changing a known route throws us into the now."
The Artists Way by Julia Cameron

I read this quote a couple of Saturdays ago and it threw me right into the now!  Once I started thinking about this statement my mind couldn't stop!  It applies to so many aspects of life. There is the very obvious application of this statement where you drive home by a different route and are forced to open your eyes and pay attention a little more than you do driving the same old way.  Then there is the deeper application in the book that suggests you go somewhere new and channel your inner "artist"...probably driving there by a different route, in order to awaken creativity.  Regardless, I was "all in" when I read it!  I'm changing it all!

Saturday was a busy day around here.  Our backyard was being dug up to save our foundation from its known route which was sinking into the earth.  Meanwhile, Grampy decided he needed to show Logan the huge holes under our house, so they were having a play date.  This date also involved Logan methodically bringing down a toy out of the toy closet upstairs, playing with it and then going back for the next...and the next.  It's a great game and a great workout!  Things were a bit loud and chaotic that morning.

Our new sofa was being delivered that afternoon!  The new sofa and the above quote motivated me to move the furniture.  Logan thought it was a great idea!  It had been at least a year since we rearranged the furniture and the old sofa and my point of view were both tired of the status quo.  I must say, I love the new arrangement.  I am sure creative brain cells are being stimulated with the new view.  Even the television looks better (maybe not a great thing) and I like seeing my house from a different perspective. 

It seems harder and harder "these days" to be in the now, at least for me.  Between my phone and computer, I can find countless ways to slide down the Internet rabbit hole and totally check out of reality.  I admit to being distracted by my phone and reading this quote reminded me that I need to do better and make an effort to be present.  A time and place for everything.

The quote also makes me think about travel and why I like it so much.  When I travel, I am definitely changing my route.  Being in a new place invites me to explore, open my eyes, take it all in and be aware of my surroundings.  I am thrown into the now!  It is so easy to plod along in my daily life in a semi-conscious state.  I walk the same sidewalks day after day.  I pass the same houses daily and I admit, there are days that I am just going through the motions.  After all, it is the same old route.  When I am in a new place I want to take it all in and by taking it all in I am in the now and I feel more alive.  I have often wondered why I can't just make my home life as invigorating as my travel life.  I am working on that one!  Unfortunately the answer I keep coming up with is to just travel more!

After the furniture had been properly arranged on Saturday we decided to get out of the cul-de-sac and check out an exhibit at the museum.  It worked right into my plan of taking a new route!  It is always a good idea to be a tourist in your own city!  We enjoyed the museum and on our walk back to our car we explored something new...to me.  The Glassell School of Art has apparently been in their new location since 2018 but it was the first time I saw it because I always park elsewhere...new route!  The school has a set of stairs up the side that leads to the observation roof .  I cannot resist a stairway to heaven and a good view so up we went.  It just so happened to be my favorite time of day too!  Sunset!  New place, new views.  Perfect!

A cool sculpture

Going up!

But first, I decided to check out that glass wall to the right.  It is one of those walls that has names of donors etched in the tiles.  Wanted to see if I knew anyone! 

We ran into my sister and her husband by taking 
a new route and being in the now.

A live/dormant roof with a view!

And a sunset!

Once the sun set it was time to explore one more new route.  In keeping with the theme of the day we tried a new wine bar and were pleasantly surprised... at least by the music and the decor!  The wine was OK... but when consumed listening to the best music of my high school and college years in a converted old house it was perfect.  Is it ironic that being in the now and listening to the music threw me back to the 70's and 80's?  We had fun reminiscing.

Later in the week I was listening to a podcast while driving the very familiar route of I-10 between Houston and Baton Rouge and it was talking about the habits of successful (professionally and health wise) people.  It went on to say that people who are the healthiest and most successful have made good habits a way of life and don't have to think about what they do, they just do it.  Healthy habits become a way of life and therefore result in good health without feeling like work. Sounds like the opposite of changing a known route.

So....how do I change my known routes AND incorporate habits AND stay in the now?  Maybe I make a habit of occasionally changing a known route and a habit of being in the now. 

Inner Loop-ing

We live "outside the loop"... in the burbs.  We like living in the burbs but we also enjoy the city.  We enjoy being close enough to visit the museums, restaurants, and various activities a large city has to offer.  Do we take advantage of it?  Sometimes.... but not often enough.  Today, we did!  We were both on the same page when the post-church question was "what are we going to do today?".  I guess we were both feeling a little culturally deprived.  Museum day it is!

2 Tons of bronze  "Reclining Woman With Fruit"....
There are days I feel about the same size!

Our first stop was the Art of the World Gallery to see the Fernando Botero exhibit of "abstract realism in luminous volume".  Thankfully the signature sculpture was outside or the stop would have been for nought because the museum was closed.  We peered inside the windows and wished we could see more.  I never expected a museum to be closed on Sunday, isn't that museum day?  We moved on to plan B or the continuation of plan A.

There are some things inside the loop that we don't have in the burbs and one of them is Trader Joe's.  We happened to be around the corner from one and just had to stop to see what was in store for the Thanksgiving season.  I could have wandered the aisles for an hour and TJ was equally entertained by the unique wine section.  We are so easily entertained!  We carefully chose our few items, waited in the very long but fast moving check out line and patted ourselves on the back for mixing it up with all the trendy folks.  It took great restraint for me to leave all of their yummy cookies, candies and snacks on the shelf.  I could have set myself up for weeks of weight gain had I caved in to all the temptation.  It's probably a good thing we don't have a Trade Joe's in the burbs!

Temptation alley!

Still feeling culturally deprived we headed to the Museum of Fine Arts for the Degas exhibit.  Unbeknownst to TJ, I had dreamt the night before about going to this exhibit....so we were literally living the dream!  We paid our entry fee and headed up to the exhibit.  TJ noticed that they charged us the "senior" rate for over 65 years old...."Sorry honey", he said.  That's what I get for hanging out with a gray haired guy who was rocking his white crew socks, black sneakers and shorts!  With our egos sufficiently crushed we continued.  We were both blown away at the sheer volume of work in this exhibit.  I don't always read everything in an exhibit but this was so fascinating, I read everything.  Reading the names of the people and places in his life took me back to Paris, which is always a good thing.

A classic

Yes, he was a sculptor too!
This was my favorite.

Museum-ing is hard work, especially if you are a senior citizen, so we needed to rest and refresh after our cultural education.  We consulted our smart phones and found a nice wine bar to explore.  We found a winner!  13 Celsius was a pleasant surprise.  We had a couple of glasses of wine and some delicious cheeses with baguettes and pretended we were tourists.  We discussed art, politics (because you can't get around it this week!), wine, hopes and dreams and it was nice.  By this time it was raining and the late Sunday afternoon crowd was buzzing.  The atmosphere was the perfect end to our cultural day.  We could have stayed much longer than we did but then our car would have needed to get picked up the next day after we took an Uber home.  The down side of inner loop-ing.

Wine and visiting museums makes you see things differently...

Just a couple of old kids enjoying the afternoon.

We called it a day and drove all the way back to the burbs in the rain feeling like we had been on a mini vacation.  We really need to embrace the city we live in/near and explore like we did when we lived in Toronto.  We get very complacent living in our neighborhood doing the same things every week and going to the same places.  We need to remember, sometimes it's good to get out of the cul-de-sac!