Maybe you’ve seen the movie ‘Click’ with Adam Sandler where he gets a universal remote for his life. He can choose at will to fast forward through ‘boring’ parts of but a consequences is that each time this particular ‘event’ occurs it will be automatically fast forwarded through again. Anyhow, I wasn’t planning on writing a review of it, but rather a feature of the remote, ‘Pause’.

Pausing is very powerful indeed. It will allow us to quickly run to the bathroom in the middle of a movie, make some more popcorn or perhaps just readjust the pillows for better comfort. But, I wasn’t actually thinking of the actual ‘Pause’ feature of most entertainment systems, but rather the pause button of life, yes there is one!

I spend far to little time pausing my life to just breath, relax and observe my surroundings. In the huzzle-buzzle of life, working a 9-5 job, getting consumed by doing is all to easy unfortunately. This is when it gets even more important to actually stop, put down the pen, remove oneself from the computer, make some tea, wrap oneself in a blanket and go sit outside and be quiet for a few minutes.

The sad thing is that each time I do this I get equally surprised at how calming, and nurturing it is, yet I only do it once in a while. It should be mandatory, just like having breakfast or breathing. Johanna and I have for the past two weekends spent at least an hour on our porch having breakfast and watching the sun climb the sky. It’s beautiful and utterly relaxing. I realize that we’re so very fortunate now with our new house in the countryside, but it hasn’t always been like this.

I can’t recall many days, before we got the house, where I just sat outside doing nothing. Having been on the move for the last 6-7 years, seeking a home, it has been nothing but unsettling and quite mentally draining. I could have benefited from pausing more often to appreciate the things I have and calm myself down.

That’s why I will attempt to spend more time doing nothing, pausing life to allow myself to be grounded and appreciate my current situation for what it is and what I have. I wouldn’t want to become the person that looks back at his life only to remember working and stressing about this and that.

Now I’m off for my morning walk.

I’ve previously mentioned that I feel as if I’m quite different from most people. I don’t typically think or act like others. We’re all different to a certain extent and should of course be considered unique. But I consider myself to be more different than others. That might seem fairly self-absorbed, and it is. But so what? Why do you care? When I write this I almost feel offended. I tell myself “Who do you think you are? Trying to be so different and all.” I, myself, am almost being angry at myself for being different.

I’m not by a long stretch the smartest out there, definitely not the most social either. What exactly it is that compels me to this sort of life I don’t know, but it allows for some very interesting perspectives on life. It’s both a blessing and a curse to think differently. A blessing because I allow myself to view things from different perspectives. It’s more difficult to do this than to follow the established rules of problem-solving but generally worth it. A great thinker will not be bound by the implicit rules imposed by others.

A curse because you’re almost always on your own. It could be that many people think like me, but choosing to not fully acknowledging what they feel, they will instead try to fit in, adapting and changing themselves to seem more … neighbourly. I’m trying to remember this brilliant quote, but can’t quite find the words but I’ll make an attempt either way. (Found it, decided to do a google!)

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken” by Oscar Wilde

I would dare to say however that most people don’t attempt to be themselves, but rather someone else. Anyways, I realize I wanted to talk about why being different is awesome. This is another curse of mine; I can’t keep focus on one thing I often seem to drift of into other thoughts.

Being different is awesome because it allows you to think outside the box. It enables you to approach problems in new ways because you’re not held back by old thinking patterns. Everyone can learn to be like this. But it’s not without consequences. It will undoubtedly lead to the questioning of established habits and this is not always a pleasant.

However; thinking differently is not enough and will get you nowhere. It is only when you put your thoughts into actions that they become real. This is the hard part. There are plenty of things I struggle with, especially being true to myself in every situation. The day I can speak my mind without worrying about consequences is a day I look forward to. It has not come yet, but I would like to believe I’m making small steps in the right direction.