Life’s Scavenger Hunt
Good morning and how do you do? I’m just trying to write another top notch intro for you guys. Don’t you just love them? They’re so great and on point and not boring and not a complete and udder waste of yours and my time. It definitely doesn’t waste words and space in the blog post. Completely awesome and well needed content here in my intros….
Getting Better
About a month or so ago I took a Skillshare class on how to be a better blogger. (Not a sponsor, if only) One of the tasks for the class was to practice writing. Just write a little bit every day. This helps you get in the habit writing every day which gets you more comfortable with the process and makes you a more efficient writer as well. Well I did really well for about 3 days. (I’m sure I technically did better than that because I was working on my research blog posts.) I have lots of really good excuses as to why I didn’t write. Well, maybe not really good but at least I have some excuses. First I obviously had to write and research for my actual posted blogs. My schedule also got all sorts of messed up. I started going to the chiropractor (so far not the pleasant experience everyone claims it to be). Then we had a close contact on the bus and had to quarantine for two weeks which meant the littles were home a lot more and we’ve had some stressful moments in-between as well. Enough of my complaining, let’s get writing and see if we can find a fun update in my life to talk about.
My First Attempt
Here is a little bit from my first attempt at just writing. You can see that it’s a little all over the place but I think it gives you a good insight into my brain and how it works. Day 1: So today I just write, right? Of course, I had to wait until the last possible second and now all of my littles are out of school and running around like crazy monsters. This makes it very difficult to concentrate on anything and is also making me not want to write. I had something awesomely profound that I wanted to write about but now I can’t remember what it is. I have been trying to read some blogs to get inspiration and see if my expectations for myself are too high or not high enough. I’m feel like I’m struggling to find myself in my writing. I feel like everything I have or want to write comes from someone else. I tend to come up with an idea and then I research to see if it’s true or if I am completely wrong. What I seem to be finding is that most of my ideas that I come up with are either negative, meaning they are the problem that needs a solution, or I want to have a source to reference that proves what I am saying is correct. When I finally feel like I have found my original thought process, I immediately think it is either not good enough or completely false. Then I research my thought to see if it’s true or going in the right direction. Then once I have researched it I find myself paraphrasing the research rather than using my authentic voice. My original goal of this blog was to give people new and different solutions to a problem the world faces, to help each other not feel so helpless. The problem is it is very easy to find problems in the world. It’s really hard to come up with solutions. So then I’m back at the beginning where I feel like I am focusing on the negative instead of the positive. Here’s an example of what I mean. Everyone knows that plastic bags are not sustainable. They use a lot of resources to make and are usually used once before they are discarded, usually thrown in the garbage or recycled and, unfortunately, occasionally left free to roam and pollute the earth and hurt wildlife. Obviously the solution to this is to not use plastic bags. However, I was watching a YouTube video about plastic bags. We all know that we’re supposed to use paper or reusable bags to be better stewards of the earth. However, did you know that you have to use a reusable bag 131 times before the production waste equals a plastic bag creation? So in order to be better than a plastic bag you have to use it at least 132 times. I still believe that using a reusable bag is better than a plastic bag; we just need to be more conscious about how we pick them and how we use them. As you can tell from this example, I seem to be having a hard time finding and expressing my authentic self, finding true solutions, and not leaving you and myself with a negative feeling at the end of the blog.
Life’s Scavenger Hunt
So after that downer, let’s talk about something else. One of my favorite things to do is a scavenger hunt. I don’t get to do them often but I absolutely love them. They are so fun; they give you a (safe) adrenaline rush, a competition where you truly get to have fun and aren’t specifically hindered by your physical prowess. They’re just awesome. Anyway, because I don’t get to do them very often, I like to note silly and unique things that I see out and about in the world. I treat it like life is a scavenger hunt. It helps me be more conscious of the world around me and amuses me. Some of the things that I have seen in my life that count towards my silly life scavenger hunt are: a funnel cloud, a genuine no shoes no shirt no service sign, a wasp drinking from a water droplet, a TV in a mirror, a skeleton on a motorcycle, a four leaf clover, a shooting star, amusing license plates, and so on. (Actually if you really enjoy scavenger hunts I occasionally post them on my website. I might have to make more of these if you are as big of a fan as me.) Well I think I get to add another one to my list. I can assure you that it was not something I ever expected to see or experience which is the fun of a scavenger hunt, finding a hidden gem. You guys, I saw a crown of broccoli in the middle of the road. (I wish I could have gotten a picture but I was driving so…)I know it’s not that exciting but seriously how many of you have been driving along and find a pristine crown of broccoli? I mean it wasn’t wrapped in plastic; it wasn’t like the prepackaged broccoli that you get in the store. It was a garden size crown of broccoli with a long stalk. Was the person that lost it eating it and the wind took it away from them? Was it broccoli tumbleweed? How did it get there? Why did it look so perfect? I don’t know the answers to any of those questions but I’m pretty sure it existed entirely just to be noticed and appreciated by someone, to be checked off of the proverbial life scavenger hunt. I know that I am weird but it’s one of the things I like about myself. I try to make a conscious effort to notice the little things that usually get missed. I can assure you I am not perfect at this. Far from it actually, but it makes life more interesting and it’s good to notice the little things.
So what does all of this mean? I’m not giving up, at least not yet. There’s still more to discover, about myself and the world. I am going to use my love of scavenger hunts to stay motivated in my process and blogs. I will consider finding the solutions and finding myself as the ultimate item to find on my scavenger hunt. Do you love scavenger hunts too? What is one of the craziest things you’ve ever seen or experienced in your scavenger hunt of life?
As always, stay positive and much love