Get out of your routine

It’s good to get our of our routines sometimes.

Fairs and festivals are a great way to do this. They create their own little worlds. These little worlds pop up and in a matter of hours, as soon as the tents are setup and the crowd starts streaming in. New friendships are formed. New community is born. A whole economy springs up. These alternative societies are dismantled just as quickly.

This past weekend I got way out of my routine. I spent three days camping out with thousands of deadheads.

• Didn’t get to sleep until 3AM every night.

• Slept in well past 6.

• “Just said no” to drugs more times than ever in my entire life.

• Let people call me Danny.

• My training completely fell off.

But also:

• Met some really kind people willing to make strangers less strange.

• Listened to amazing musicians in a beautiful place.

• Spent 48+ hours outdoors.

• Admired art and their artists.

• Learned about how other people live. The way they love the people in their lives.

Getting out of your normal setting let’s you shift our perspective. It’s living in a new world for a brief moment in time.

Quickly this new little world become the main one we are living in. The “real world” becomes a faint memory we recollect as if a past life. On the first night back I felt strange in my own house. I fell asleep early, my dreams filled with images of the people I met and listening to ripping guitar solos.

Returning to your normal routine is both jarring and refreshing. New gratitude can be found for the things that you enjoy in life. The things you know you need to change become just that much more clear. This helps you ask the right questions of yourself. What to keep. What to prune.

So, find a way to get out of your routine. Meet new people. Go an an adventure. Live in a different world for a bit. It just might give you the perspective you’ve been looking for.