An Awakening Experiment

Spring is awakening. You can feel it through the sun's rays. hear it in the morning bird chirps. see it in children's smiles as they frolic in front yards (and their parents who let them run around like little crazies because "gosh darnit, it's just so good not to be trapped inside with three kids under the age of four". That is my parent voice that you just heard. You can tell me if it is accurate or not. My guess is, yes.)

Spring means bringing this little guy back to it's cute little self state where he has nice, green leaves! Hooray for spring.

In congruence with the new life that spring brings, I am beginning an awakening of my own...

I want to explore creativity and wonder through developing new skills and cultivating new experiences to enjoy. I love that God created us to be curious (some have a stornger knack for it then others...aka my friend who quit his job and is traveling around South America...nbd)

But, curiosity can be a quality that we hone. we grow. we practice. When I am curious, I am at full attention. sometimes my brain spins a million miles a minute trying to "figure it out". The desire to understand and to satisfy the curiosity brings excitement to me.

Think about the last time you listened to your curious spirit. Think about the last time you didn't just ask someone what they do for a living and scramble to the next best small talk question. Did you really and genuinely ask about their day-to-day work? or how they enjoyed it? or what life choices along their way lead them to that path?

How about this...think about the last time you wondered what something tasted like. or how an experience would make you feel. or if you could do it too. When was the last time you wondered? When was the last time you did something to satisfy the curiosity? When was the last time you tried something and didn't care if you "failed"?

In the spirit of awakening curiosity, my experiment begins. In some ways, it began when I started this blog. I didn't let the fear of what people will think of me deter me from trying. (and, frankly,  I still have to remind myself that people's approval of me will not bring me joy. wholeness. true satisfaction. Instead, I write to share my journey for learning how to love God. learning how to create community. learning how to generate hospitality.)

I am going to try 11 new experiences to fully embrace curiosity. creativity. wonder. 

Here is my brainstorm:

1. Make homemade candles (complete- blog to come soon)
2. Pick up tennis as a hobby (in proces- blog to come soon)
3. Learn to sew (maybe even make patio furniture cushions...wow, that's ambitious considering I do not even know how to turn on the machine)
4. Plant an herb garden
5. Plant a (mini) flower garden (ok...maybe let's go with- plant flowers. garden makes that seem way too overwhelming for this girl to handle. i have yet to attempt to keep a plant alive.)
6.  Visit a museum by my lonesome (really see how going without company influences the experience)
7. Watch sunrise at the beach with coffee in hand (now this one, people, is a BIG deal. it requires getting up early. hello! also made possible with family that live in OC)
8. Host neighbors over for drinks (let's cultivate community peeps!)
9.  ??
10. ??
11. ??

9-11 are still up in the air. Do you have suggestions? Or want to read about my trying something and completing messing it all up? Great- send your ideas my way! I am totally open to looking like a fool and smiling while doing so. :) Or create your own awakening experiment and share your ideas with others (and hopefully me too!).

My hope for this awakening experiment is to cultivate a curious mind that experiences joy, notices wonder, and celebrates the way that God allows us to experience creativity. Second hope= laugh at all of the mishaps that are SURE to happen as I embark on this silly journey.


Also, after I wrote this post, I read an article about the power of pausing and trying new things that even puts science behind some of my crazy statements. The author of the article actually gives some of the same examples that I do- so imagine that...maybe I am not all that crazy after all.