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Feature Article April

Feature Article April, 2004

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New route, new route

My shop is across the garden with different paths to it, but the most direct is the most worn from thoughtlessly taking it when going to 'work' there; that is, until my Significant Helpmate walks with me. She takes my arm, whispers the words, "New route! New route!" and we detour together around the garden seeing, hearing, feeling and smelling that which surrounds us but is too often ignored: a minor change in habit that has extended farther into our lives and opened up new vistas for both of us. "New route! New route!" may spring from either of us as we travel about physically, socially and emotionally. Our world, because of two little words repeated, has been extended and enriched.

Too often we become so entrenched with old habits and viewpoints that we are insulated from new ones: so accustomed to an old thought that a new one is seldom conceived. But a preoccupied mind can be opened with a loving touch, a gentle nudge and a whisper. 'New route!' is not a persuasion but a suggestion that there may be some richness outside of the usual.

In our rush to get from A to B, we stick to the shortest and familiar road without thought except to get the voyage over. There are new routes to be enjoyed, new sights to be seen, new stops to be made and new friends to be met, but we seem to need a conscious reminder they exist. When we get too preoccupied with the pace of life, most of us need someone at our arm with an intimate reminder, "New route! New route!" When the new route becomes too familiar, be careful not to slip back into the comfort afforded by the new old. When that happens, raise your eyes again above the path and whisper "New route!"

There are some who do not like a new route; granted the old is familiar and comfortable, usually without surprises. There are some who are so entrenched in their way of life they cannot be moved. I'm inclined to think that loving hands have long given up on these types, for it is impossible to ignore a suggestion from a loved one to meander a bit from the path. These must be lonely people--so set in their ways that habits cannot be changed even by a gentle touch and caressing whisper. They are missing a lot but fortunately are in a minority. Are they content with their fate? I muse they would be happier with at least trying a new route once in a while.

It is preoccupation and fear that keeps most of us on the straight and narrow, a path too often held up as being the ideal. If many of the past inventors and innovators in all walks of life had not ventured off the accustomed route, the present world would not be as exciting and fulfilling as it is.

It is a wise and rich person who can experience exciting new routes yet not be tempted to completely abandon the old that affords the stability needed for a balanced and exciting life.

With the participation of the Government of Canada