INTERESTING: arousing curiosity or interest; holding or catching the attention.
Make every day more interesting—-how?
There are soo many thoughts, ideas, actions, things to watch or read, learn….the list goes on. Yesterday we took our daughter and her current love interest out to dinner for his birthday. He is an incredible person full of potential. He has an engineer mind and likes to challenge himself, doesn’t waste a lot of time with video games or habits that don’t lead to something better. He has a lot of great skills: bilingual, plays instruments, draws, buys, fixes up and sells motorcycles, builds things, is always learning and doing. He has soo many great qualities, so I found it entertaining as we sat at dinner and watched his thought process. He looked at the Spaghetti Factory menu and decided to shake things up by finding the meal with the most calories and ordered it. [I was shocked that the Chicken Ceasar Salad was almost as many calories as his meat plate special that was a huge sausage, spaghetti and 3 large meatballs–what!] He is not a big guy, so we all enjoyed teasing and watching him suffer through his big meal. He then proceeded to add more items to his caloric challenge—finishing the bread on the table, my daughter’s ravioli and then his dessert. I smiled as he looked so full, ‘You okay? You look done!” He just surveyed the table and kept eating. We all teased as we evaluated how he could have made his meal worth even more calories…”well, you could have done the salad with more calories than the soup…as well as…” we all chimed in with our individual suggestions and just kept laughing.
He definitely found a way to make the meal more interesting! haha.
So, how can we take life day by day to make it a little more enJOYable, a little less serious, maybe a touch more challenging, sprinkled with depth and some spice to make everything pizzazzed with interest!
Well, here we go!! Here are some ideas to get you started.
Be Curious. Dream. Imagine. Always be looking for things you are curious about or that seem to catch your attention somehow. There are things all around me that I wonder about—who began learning from the stars? Why is it that some people literally have divine dreams that give them inspired ideas (Google came from a dream, so did various symphonies, the periodic table, the sewing machine, The Beatles song “Yesterday” and even “The Twilight” series), Why some people are more creative or genius…on and on my mind is curious about so many topics. To dream. To imagine. Just keep seeking out those things that grab you & your attention.
Think outside any norm: We each have unique strengths in the various areas of creativity, mental clarity, direction, ingenuity, skill, design, ability…We all have certain things we are inspired to bring and share with the world. Always be seeking those things that make you think outside your norm and are trying to catch your attention. YOU may be the way that an idea is born or realized. YOU may be the one who brings a specific inspiration into this world. Here is a wonderful example. Who would have thought…I saw this act and was so inspired by her imagination, determination, her fearless act to bring something so beautiful to the world. AGT extreme red balloon aerialist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUN61e68VF0
Learn interesting facts or new words daily: There are places like Word Genius, Word Daily, Interesting Facts, etc that send you daily emails with fun words to learn. Sign-up, get the emails or google fun words to find. I often share a great word or interesting fact with those I care about or I think would appreciate them. It is just a little, daily fun!
Convertible rides make everything better: After a health scare I had one of those moments where I genuinely felt life is too short, so I am going to go buy a convertible. I think at some point everyone wants to feel the freedom of feeling the sunshine, the breeze, the way a convertible seems to take you on vacation and away from your norm. I couldn’t agree more. I have said since the day we got my convertible that I will always have one. My little family has so many wonderful memories of watching the stars near the beach with the convertible top down, driving to see Christmas lights with hot cocoa & the top down, special drives with certain songs, having my daughter learn to drive, throwing candy from the convertible to kids at a bus stop, my Mom on parade for her birthday, cousins dancing in the back seat while the ice cream whipped across their faces & the laughter that erupted…every memory in the convertible just seems more memorable. They seem to make things better. Nothing beats a relaxing ride after a tough business call or a long winter…everything is just a little better. IF you have always wanted one—go get it! No regrets.
Find people who inspire and stand out: Hugette Montesinos-Rodriguez stands out with her bright style, positive vibe and way of inspiring. ProjectInspo.com I came across that shared one woman’s journey of living after her father passed away. She wanted to travel and live for him. You can find people all over the internet to inspire. Find a blog, a chef, an artist, a builder, an innovator…someone that speaks to you in some way with the work they do, the quotes they share, the products they put out into the world…the way they stand out & keep them handy to be inspired by. My daughter frequently finds wildlife photographers that she is inspired by & seeks to connect with them and share her feelings of how they inspire and teach her something.
Celebrate every day—love that most days will be…National Lighthouse Day or Pancake Day or….TODAY is National Zucchini bread day!! What! Go to https://nationaldaycalendar.com/what-day-is-it/. It reminds us of daily celebrations. Every day should be some sort of happy holiday. We have so much to live for…be grateful for..shout out to the roof tops that we are happy for. What would you like to celebrate? Just do it!! Life is to be celebrated. How are you living? Dancing, whistling, singing, cake eating, kind word sharing, get outside and joyously scream celebrations. Find moments, days, any special occasion or worthy something celebration and enJOY it!!
New Towns: Driving from Oregon to Utah—lots of tiny towns…Bliss. SNOWVILLE. Paul. Twin Falls. Gooding. Paradise Valley, Mountain Home, Sun Valley, Lime, Pleasant Valley, Etc. There are tiny towns across the globe awaiting someone to see. Take a weekend, look at a map and find a town that sounds dreamy, thought inducing, wander lusting and make your way there. Maybe there is a famous diner nearby that was showcased on a food show. Maybe just the name of Paradise calls to your heart. Maybe Paris, Idaho has something special. Explore and find something of interest nearby. There is so much to see and do.
Words. Names. Tattoos. Meanings. Give feelings, shares stories…I recently spoke with an amazon service rep Named “Common” . I Asked her about her name and the meaning…”Gods vineyard”. Then I met someone else named, Shanti “peace.” Do you know the meaning of your name? Is there a name of a friend or someone you may meet that has your attention. Ask. I also LOVE coming across and asking people who have tattoos what the stories are that adorn their body. Sometimes it is in honor of someone, or just a cool design, a favorite moth from a movie, a hidden part of themself, etc. There is so much meaning in symbols, names, artwork, it all makes people so very interesting. Be interested. Just ask.
A fun question for you…IF you were to get a tattoo or change your name, what would it be?
Theme it! Sometimes when we make a special meal we have music to accompany, table decor, a special light/lantern, a movie or date to match, etc. We have done Fond of You Fondu nights, Mocktails with a fancy movie, Card game with a night of ‘poker face’ episodes, Pasta with Italian music. Growing up my family would do spaghetti by candlelight. You could also learn a Latin dance from YouTube and have salsa & chips, any theme will do!!
More Variety: Like spices!! We are pretty plain chefs at our house, so when we have guests come & join in the kitchen they are always looking for our spice rack to add some flavor. haha. Spices add a little something extra to everything—just like life. Begin to add a little dash of variety into your day—a sprinkle of uncertainty by taking a road never taken or a walking path you have always wanted to stroll. Maybe have lunch up a canyon or a picnic by the bay. Go buy a used book that has a story line that draws you in. Try a new donut flavor every Friday and share it with co-workers. Maybe shake up your coffee habit with a twist of something unique. Whatever you do—add some flavor and shake in some spice for variety. Life needs shake ups and tiny changes that make big differences. They are the activities, the foods, the music, the necessities that keep us curious.
Seek something NEW to you: A new book, a new podcast, a new recipe, a new workout, a new shop, a new class, path, hike, sport, restaurant, etc. There are always new albums coming out, new thinkers sharing ideas, podcasts full of great information, so much out there to take in and super-charge your perspective, your brain, your creativity. I am always seeking something new to learn, even if it is just a fun fact or something I had no idea about. Another fun thing to seek—check out your old songs that you grew up with that have been re-made into something you want to hear today. [ie: A popular song for me growing up was “Forever Young” by Alphaville & I just heard a re-make of it by Undressd & Ellie May—great version] Seek out the old for something NEW!
Subject Matter Experts: Find someone that knows something you don’t. There are subject matter experts in all things. My daughter’s new boyfriend knows a lot about various subjects he is interested in. We walked an air museum together and he was showing me how the engine model works. It was fascinating trying to look at the metal parts and envision how they work and move. When you are around people who know different subject matter—you are bound to learn something you never knew even existed. I try to constantly be taking a new class from my community education to learn anything new. We can never learn too much.
A new perspective: This may sound funny, but try it. Sometimes you just need a different angle or perspective for your life. Like in photography–you may need to step back and analyze a situation from a new view; a different perspective. Maybe you lie down and look at the sky for a few minutes. Breathe and ask for answers. Maybe you need to swing in a hammock or playground swing to get in touch with your inner child. What if you were to sit under a tree or walk a garden to take in the natural, health boosting energy. We are all dealing with different situations, stresses, happenings within our life. Yesterday, my daughter was feeling very overwhelmed with school, boyfriend, stress, her new job, next year’s plans, a room mate moving out, the unknowns. I called her and told her to take a few minutes in her day and just find a place of peace and say a genuine prayer for herself. She has a little meditation book that she likes to open for answers after she prays & it is amazing how often it helps her whole perspective. She asked for security and the page spoke about being secure. It was a gift and answer. She just needed to find a quiet bench, under a tree to change her perspective from stress to seeking. It was a gift for her day.
Hope these ideas get you thinking of the little, interesting ways to enhance your day and make it brighter…better. We all need ideas to inspire—especially INTEREST. We need to constantly be seeking, challenging, learning, growing in all we do. Life is too short. Get after it!! Find the spices of life, savor them and utilize them for every occasion. Celebrate. Find JOY in the journey and be a gift to those around you with your wisdom, your words of the day, the perspectives you have, the stories you share. Be inspired and be someone’s inspiration. Be interesting. Be YOU. There is only ONE.
Love, Light, Peace and JOY to you. xoxo. -H
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