No Such Thing as Routine

When you are thousands of miles away from your family, you get to choose the ones in your life who become your new family.

-Victor

Two months have passed since I landed in Melbourne.  The newness is wearing off, and what was once fresh and new is quickly becoming my norm.  I have to admit that it feels a bit strange.  The streets that I explored with trepidation are now familiar to me and the events once worth chronicling now exist as unwritten stories.  In two months time routine replaced adventure. I still feel the emptiness associated with missing Chris and my family, but the rest is changed.  Is this another lesson?

How many times in life does this happen?  I experience something as new and exciting and as time passes it becomes my norm and all of the magic is lost.  Most of the time I don't even acknowledge that it has happened because I am so wrapped up in the day to day of whatever it is that I am doing.  Life as I know it becomes familiar, and I live it as such.  In this process I virtually kill off any possibility of excitement or thrill, yet I still expect to be excited by something and I become disappointed when I don't find it. 

Before the wheels of my plane ever touched down on Australian soil I had already created a vision of what Australia would look like.  This vision of mine was likely put together by the bits and pieces of information that I had taken in over the years from movies and television.  It was influenced by news stories and of course further tweaked by chance encounters I had with Australian natives.  The Australia that I created in my head looked absolutely nothing like the Australia that I encountered when I arrived.  It was not better or worse, it was just different.  The excitement came from discovering the real Australia.  Naturally it would be the real Australia as seen through my eyes and experiences.  When the experiences no longer felt new, well then it must be because I have come to know Australia.  HA HA HA!  That is a good one.

My lesson is that I created another zone of comfort.  This particular zone of comfort extends about four square miles.  I exist inside of this zone of comfort and I look for something to occur as new.  When nothing new occurs life begins to feel as routine.  Its pretty arrogant to think that I know Australia, or even Melbourne, given that I am only operating inside of my comfort zone of a few miles.  This is a bustling city filled with god knows how many people.  Each person has their own story and something to offer.  The trick in life, my life, is not getting so comfortable that the people and possibilities available no longer seem relevant.  It took me a while to open my eyes to this newest lesson.  The lesson is that life is much bigger than I know it to be, but I have to allow it to unfold and not get trapped inside of a comfort zone.  Excitement is all around me and there are stories to tell and experiences to share.  I have a choice in determining how my life looks and how it feels.  

I broke out of my comfort zone for just a few hours today, but it was long enough to inspire me and learn this valuable lesson.  Over the past several weeks I have become friends with many of the hotel restaurant and bar staff.  Victor manages both establishments in the hotel, and a few weeks ago he invited me to his wedding party.  He and his wife were already married but the party was being held tonight in the hotel penthouse.  Everyone knows that I get nervous when attending these types of events, but I was honored that Victor thought to invite me as his guest.  

The penthouse is extraordinary with sweeping views of the city.  I was initially overwhelmed by the number of people in attendance and the diverse makeup of the crowd.  Victor noticed me standing just inside the suite and he headed in my direction welcoming me with his usual smile and bellowing voice.  He instructed me to help myself to the food and beverages and told me to introduce myself to his guests.  If he knew me a little better he would have known that this was exactly the thing not to say to me because I tend to be quite shy.  I made my way through the room and found myself a spot on the balcony.  It wasn't long before I was talking to all sorts of different people.  My routine was replaced with something new, and I was still within the walls of the hotel. 

If it wasn't for Victor and his invite, I don't know how long it would have taken me to realize that I was back to my old self again.  I may have never realized that I was limiting myself and settling for routine.  His invitation was more than an invite to a party, it was an invite to reexamine what I was creating in Australia.  This country is full of great people and I am blessed to have met so many of them in two short months.  At one point during the party there was an opportunity for people to speak about Victor and his new wife.  In between the many people who participated, Victor took the mic and spoke a few words of his own.  I was stunned and honored when he acknowledged me as the newest member of his Melbourne family.  There is nothing mundane or routine about that!  

Thank you Victor, and may god bless you and your new wife!