Finding Novelty in the Normalcy of Mundane Life

A friend recently asked me an interesting question after watching my TEDx talk…

Question:

“I’d love to get your perspective on a topic related to your TED talk…

During my season of travel, I found myself becoming addicted to novelty – as if it was a drug. At first, novel experiences slowed time down and bring new perspective. But as time went on, I found myself developing a tolerance to novelty itself.

My goal since we settled down has been to narrow the aperture of attention, to find novelty in the subtleties of day to day life, when it doesn’t exist to the same extent on a macro level.

How do you think about this? Can you relate that novelty addiction at all?”

Answer:

Herein lies the truth of the spiritual path… This reminds me of the Ten Bulls of Zen (pictures/poems from the 12th century)… where the 9th bull is “Reaching Source” and the 10th bull is “Returning to Society”. Or rather the “normalcy” of everyday life after attaining said “enlightenment” or realization.

Novelty I believe is the core of our existence. The present moment is the only true moment that exists. Therefore it is always new and novel. Yet humans are creatures of habit… We fall into typical and commonplace routines… Where waking up, getting ready, going to work, caring for kids, cooking dinner, and going to bed are played on repeat on the record players of our life until death. So how do we navigate this inherent paradox of personal experience in such a way?

I believe that we naturally strive to seek novelty to keep our life exciting, exhilarating, and fun… Think about how so many people use social media to show those sides of their life, even though a lot of it might very well be quite “normal.”

I personally love to travel and it is where I feel most at flow and where the synchronicities consistently arise. However, I realize it is imperative to ground after those periods to integrate what has occurred.

Novelty is meant to be found in the mundane. It is where look at the same coffee machine you’ve used for years and notice a the way the silver finish shines in the morning light like you’ve never noticed. It is where you look at the clock on your car right when you see that repeating number to remind you of the novelty that occurs at every moment and how grateful you are to live an experience encased in a human body at that exact time in this eternal now of existence.

Novelty is NOT an external experience that only comes from traveling or going to a new festival. Novelty comes from the wellspring of ever-new joy that lies within when you approach each moment in the eternal now with full and absolute presence.

When you come into presence, and simultaneously allow yourself to come into the role of the OBSERVER of the one who is experiencing presence, you are no longer the human on auto-pilot regardless of how mundane your day or tasks are. You step aside from the misconception that you are the “doer.” You begin to see instead that you are the one “being done” in the magnificence of the collective dream we are simultaneously co-creating in resonance through our heart field (measurable up to 3 meters away from the human body).

In these moments, all becomes novel… The beautiful leaf you passed by on your evening walks with the family carry a different sense of meaning. The way the sunlight is only illuminating the one tree with fall-colored leaves. The uneven sidewalk that was once a nuisance for your child’s bike becomes an inkling of perfection in itself, the bluejay bird perched on a branch becomes a reminder of your personal growth path.

With presence; and with stepping back from the narrative of the story you have been told and find yourself so closely in on your day-to-day existence, then you begin to see that every single second is a novel moment in which you can play and be grateful for in the infinite grains you get to touch in this sandbox of life.