Shaking Things Up (In A Good Way)

Hey, did you know there was an earthquake this week?

Folks all across New Hampshire have been talking about the Tuesday night. Nobody was hurt and nothing seems to be damaged, but many of us felt the earth move all over New England.

I was in the local library covering an antique roadshow on Tuesday when the earthquake hit. The show was part way through as the appraiser combed through old antiques, when suddenly the building shook.

Now, I have never been in an earthquake before, and my first dumb thought was that there was a dance class or something on the upper level of the library. THAT was my first thought. My dumb brain was nowhere near the conclusion of “earthquake” in that moment.

First things first: What dance team was would possibly be practicing in a library? Lets just forget about how impractical that thought is and focus on its nuts and bolts. Did I think they were some kind of Irish step dancing team? They would have to either be wearing lumberjack boots or be quite obese to make a large building move like that.

That must have been what I thought was happening. Some heavyset team of Irish lumberjacks practicing their routine on the top floor of a library while an antique show went on downstairs. It seems that made the MOST sense at the time.

Lumberjacks aside, it was an interesting experience to have for the first time. One minute everything is normal, and the next an earthquake comes along and makes me question my rational thought process.

Having things literally “shook up” at the library made me think about how nice it is to have a change once in awhile. Life can seem so routine and sometimes it takes a small thing (or large earthquake) to take us out of it. 

Being open to these surprises means having a mind ready to embrace the new, and sometimes absurd, changes that can fly into daily life. I can’t tell you how many times I have sat at my desk just waiting for a greased-up clown to run past my window while police officers chase him on roller skates.

They don’t happen all of the time and cannot be predicted (that is why they call them “surprises,”) but the good ones should always be welcome. In fact, we can shake things up in our own lives and ditch that boring routine occasionally. Take a look at your day and see what you can do differently that would add a little “spice.” Maybe go to a new store and buy a crazy new outfit, or ask a group of strangers to join in their pickup game of basketball.

Heck, you can just make a pair of underwear out of bubble wrap if that’s what you are into.

A solid routine is a great thing, but all great things must come to an end at some point. Get crazy here and there when you can because an earthquake only comes once in so many years. In the meantime, let's hope those tree-cutting dancers join Weight Watchers and/or find another place to practice.