With my recent travels and ensuing illness, my normal rhythms and familiar routines have been tossed to the wayside for almost a month! A part of me has longed to get back to regular things, like home-cooked favourites, guitar class and yes, even laundry!

And another part of me noticed something different…

Space!

What if I didn’t want to go back to everything the way it was? What if I wanted to create something different?

From out here, so much is possible!

When we’re outside of our normal routine, whether by choice or by chance, we have the opportunity to take a fresh look at our lives. It’s the perfect time to open up to options, ideas and possibilities.

Why not give things a little shake up?

Routine and order can be really important in our busy lives and creating habits like journaling or exercising can support us in moving healthily and positively towards our dreams.

But habits can also stop us from experiencing our everyday. We go through our routine so sleepily that we get to work and barely remember how we got there or what our breakfast tasted like. We go on automatic pilot as we clean our home, plan our meals, get to work, balance our budget, organize our to-do list, etc. And suddenly we’ve missed our morning, our day, our life!

My invitation to you this week is to break out of some of your habitual behaviours and experience the moment. I’m not suggesting that you throw your life out of whack, fall off the exercise wagon or live in chaos. What I am suggesting is that by playfully making a few simple changes to your routine, you can awaken yourself to experiencing each day and remind your brain that it can explore, discover and try new things.

To be creative, you have to be open to life. Authentic expression comes from your ability to connect and then respond in your own unique way to whatever it is that you encounter, whether it’s a touching moment, fierce weather, a grumpy cashier or powerful music. And to do that, you must be awake.

Shake it up to wake it up!

Here are some playful suggestions for breaking out and waking up:

• Change your bed time.
• Browse an unfamiliar section of the bookstore
• Brush your teeth with your other hand
• Change the part in your hair
• Wear a colour you never wear
• Listen to a different radio station
• Dance while you do the dishes or load the dishwasher
• Order something different
• If you normally don’t, say “hello” first
• Read a different section of the paper
• Take a different route home
• Get there early
• Try a new fruit
• Go media-free for a day
• Wear that outfit you’ve been saving

The key is to awaken to your life and remind yourself that things can change – you can change them! After all, creativity makes things happen – and so can you!