"... make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something."
- N. Gaiman
At dinner the other night, I looked around the room - a beautiful room in a restaurant full of people there to enjoy a fantastic meal. What struck me was this:
Every person in the restaurant, every patron, was looking at their screen. There was on lady, I'm guessing 70 years old, who caught me looking around the room. She was doing the same thing. Noticing.
If you're taking pictures of every "moment" you may be missing those moments. If you're scrolling instagram while you're at the dinner table with friends, you're missing the chance to be with your friends.
Take a night this week to put the phone down and notice. Enjoy that steak. Savor that glass of wine. Talk to your friends about politics, religion, nothing in particular.
Do something. Get out of the nether and do something. Go fuck something up. Make a mess.
Some ideas for sparking your imagination:
Skip the pre-packaged "super-special" mass-concocted spice mix. Grab some fresh herbs and a nice wine vinegar and create your own marinade. Grab some salt and pepper and maybe some other spices from your pantry and make your own personal dry rub. That's super special. * added benefit: no preservatives.
Skip the bag of "Spring greens" at the grocery store. Go to the farmers marked in your town (there's one) and gather up locally grown produce. Carrots, potatoes, radishes, whatever. Build your own salad.
Skip the "all natural" salad dressing on isle 14 at the local grocery. Grab a fancy red wine vinegar, some amazing olive oil, and make your own dressing. Seriously, it's crazy easy, it's crazy tasty, and it's insanely inexpensive. You'll spend about $0.30 on the entire dressing (2tsp vinegar, 2 tsp oil, salt, pepper, herbs) and the flavor will be fresh and alive and will punch you in the mouth with goodness.
Get off your ass. Go outside. Do something.