🔍 Desperately looking for a routine
How to look at the extraordinary when we just want a regular schedule? And speaking of extraordinary, Doubtful Danish Design - the beloved session from my Instagram - is now here.
The human mind is indeed an amazing little thing. I found myself thinking about this after reading another newsletter here on Substack, Olhar Criativo (sorry, it’s in Portuguese), which talked about “making the ordinary something extraordinaire” as a way to end up with boredom and stimulate our creativity.
Franco Antonio, author of this great News, indicated 3 different ways of relating to everyday life and I got stuck on the first one, which said:
1 - On the path you always take to school, work or anything else: observe the small details and how it would be if that had much more importance.I've read before about the effort necessary to make the familiar exotic and vice versa. To look with the eyes of a child. This kind of thing. And I believe these advices, despite seeming cliché, need to be reinforced and repeated, because the human nature always finds a way to make everything in an automated way, in a blink of an eye.
We seek the comfort of the routine all the time.
Despite loving the exploration of new perspectives, my problem now is that I am experiencing the opposite movement.
This week I went to my first Danish class. Everything is new, the way to the school is fascinating, but along with this enchantment there is a
desperate
need
to find:
familiar spots
corners I've seen at least once
indications that I'm on the right track.
I passed by a huge tower from the 17th century, but before admiring it I need to know if I turned into the right street 🤷♀
️ My challenge today is to rebuild some part of my routine as quickly as possible to be able to look at the extraordinary again.
And before we move on, Franco told me some wise words, after we exchanged some messages:
…I think it's important to analyze feelings closely and not confuse what is familiar with routine.
- the familiar is what brings you closer to who you are, who you have memories of.
- routine is what goes by without noticing, it is repetitive and with no highlights.
The familiar warms the heart and makes us feel good. I find it when I cook, when I meet Brazilians, when I'm at a board game table. This is all part of my essence and any repetition is welcome 💙
In the other hand, to live excessively in a routine, is not good for anyone.
And that just makes me think how cyclical we are.
Balance is a matter of constant effort, but to be stable at this mythical point seems utopian to me. I prefer to think we must find our rhythm, going two steps to the front and two steps back, all the way through the melody.
In new situations, where basic needs are at stake, it is impossible not to run after habits, routines and elements of our environment that can be somehow automated. We need this to go on.
And because this is an imperative function for our survival – have you ever thought about having to think every day about your way to work?! – we got good at it. That's where the danger lies. We got so pro that we have to make constant efforts to deconstruct this complex and well-elaborated function of the human brain.
All this reflection gave me some peace.
To understand where I am in this cycle calmed my desire to go out and discover everything at once, doing new things, exploring one museum a week.
Now I’m going to make the most of my train journeys, accompanying the stations, so I don't miss the right stop. That is already extraordinary enough for today 😊
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👑 Meanwhile in the Kingdom of Denmark
I haven't been out of home much in the last few days, but this weekend I should go to the Copenhagen Light Festival, with several light installations spread around the center of Copenhagen. Maybe we'll have pictures of it in the next edition.
Meanwhile, talking about the extraordinary with a good pinch of humor, let's go to the most acclaimed section of my Instagram:
Doubtful Danish Design
Tell me: would you have one of these at home?
See you!
Remember: english is not my native language! This is a translated version of Liliando in portuguese. If you see any major mistake, please be kind and just let me know!