I never realized what a rut I was in until several hours ago.
It hit me squarely between the eyes that getting in a rut - and staying there - is an easy place to be. The unsettling part is that I wasn't aware of being in the rut.
A routine or schedule can morph into a rut.
I'm all for routines and schedules. In fact, I might even say I thrive (or maybe depend is a more accurate word) on routines and schedules. Keeping a routine or following a schedule has facilitated my transition into the world of no paycheck. (That whole topic, the no-paycheck-world, is fodder for another blog.) This transition has not been without its blips and bleeps and, most certainly, has not been easy or tranquil. I have fought the transition tooth and nail, but thought that, for the most part, I was making progress. Until today, that is.
Arriving at the position of a rut is an eye-opening event - an event that is unwelcome and unwanted, sinister in nature because the "rutter" may not be cognizant of "ruttism" setting in. That would be me! I would characterize a rut as the ugly step-sister of the routine. Routines signify a willingness for change and adaptation. A rut signifies stagnation and lack of flexibility - a lack of desire for new experiences and new places.
When I became a "changling" today, my whole outlook underwent a metamorphasis. I got out with my significant other at a time of day that we do not ordinarily venture out at, we ate lunch at a restaurant that we do not ordinarily frequent, had great conversation with friends we do not lunch with frequently, then left the restaurant to run errands of a different nature than the norm.
All in all, a great day.
Different is good.
Ancora imparo
