I Need To Get Out More

I had the great pleasure of dining out with friends this weekend. There were nine of us in all, and we decided that in addition to ordering appetizers, we would each order one main dish from the Chinese food menu and share. The beauty of eating this way is that you get to have a variety of food instead of only one dish, and you get to try new things that you might not ordinarily try.

The Bok Choy and Mystery Mushroom were surprisingly good.

It got me thinking about all the other  “new to me” things that I wouldn’t normally try. I mean, yes, there are several things on my “bucket list” that I’ve never done before, and am trying to accomplish in a timely fashion. But I mean the little things – things that seem easier to discount the older you get: a new food, a different hairstyle, an unknown song, etc. It is a sad but true fact that for the vast majority of us, the older we get, the more set in our ways we become. Hey, you kids – get off of my lawn!

Maybe it’s because we get more confident with time, and thus know exactly what it is that we like. It’s a nice idea, but I don’t buy it. Chances are, it’s probably because we get lazy and just stop trying. “Why fix it if it ain’t broke?” … “Who has the time?” … “I’ll just have the usual.” … It’s easy, I get that, but…*sigh* How dull. Far too often we get lulled into our predictable and safe routines. Which is fine, I guess, if that’s what truly makes you happy. But does it? Really?

I think part of living a full and rich life is being open to new experience. Think of the “old” people you know that have a spring in their step and a smile on their face. They embody the eager playfulness of an outgoing child. Which is a good thing – numerous studies on brain function support the whole “use it or lose it” phenomenon. (It’s funny, but when I used to imagine myself as a “grownup”, I always went straight to being a zany grandmother type – with fuchsia hair and a mischievous glint in my eye. Go, me!) Maybe it’s time we get off our collective butts and do something new, hmm?

Patchwork bird print fabric by Lemon Tree Studio.

Lately, I’ve been admiring these patchwork birds I’ve seen on various pages on Etsy. Different artists have different approaches to them, and they reminded me a bit of the quilted critters I made a while back, though I’ve never ever actually tried piecing fabric or paper together quite like that. Even though I have no idea what I could possibly use them for (I generally like having a function for the things that I make), it  would give me a great reason to try some more “green crafting”.

I pulled out my scrap paper stash, my cutting mat, my Xacto knife, and so on. And just as I’m about to start cutting and pasting, my son comes up and asks “Can I use your watercolour pencils please?” Sure. Why not. Even though I’ve had them a while, I’ve never really used them. So I dig them out, get him some paper and water, and get him all set up in the kitchen. As I’m turning to head back to my desk I stop and ask myself “What am I DOing? This is exactly the whole being open to new experience thing I’ve been writing about all morning!” So I turn around and join him, and this is what happens.

Today’s watercolour birds.

I still don’t consider myself much of a drawer – a free-hand copier, sure, but drawing from my own imagination is something that still scares the heck out of me. But there I am with my son, who is boldly drawing, without a care in the world. And so I try. I search for a little bird in my mind’s eye and I let my pencil try to find her. I erase. I look again. I resist the urge to copy from a book. And I am surprised by what I eventually come up with. Then I play with the watercolours and try embellishing with ink. And it’s fun. Maybe, for today, that’s function enough.