Discovering life - an experiment
I recently read about Jess and Tim, two New Yorkers who have been friends for years and asked themselves: „Can we fall in love if we spend time together every day for 40 days?“. So they launched the „40 Days of Dating“ experiment and wrote about it in a Blog. [For anyone who’s curious: they fell in love – and things remained complicated.]
What really struck me – apart from the cool and rather quirky idea – was that every evening they asked themselves the following questions:
What new things have I learnt about the other person?
- And what about me?
I found the questions fascinating and brilliant. Above all, because reflecting on them certainly helped them to remember things that would otherwise simply have been forgotten. It wasn’t often the „big“ things they wrote down, but the little details: his shopping habits. Her laughter. Something they’d learnt about each other’s childhood. And much more besides.
I thought I might give it a go. Not necessarily with a man, but with life itself. To ask myself every evening for a while:
What new things have I discovered about life?
- What new things have I discovered about myself?
And share the answers with you (perhaps not every day, but on some evenings).
This is also inspired by the spiritual practice of retreats, where, in the evening, you ask yourself: When during the day did I feel most alive? And when did I feel least alive? [A great book on this subject: Sleeping with Bread]
For me, it’s also a form of mental wellbeing. At the moment, I’ve got a great deal to organise and manage. On the one hand, for the publishing house. But decisions also need to be made and things organised on a daily basis for the ship project. And then next week the lecture season begins again, with seminars and events in various locations across Germany. At such busy times, there’s a real danger of forgetting to enjoy life – of missing out on the small, beautiful moments of everyday life. That’s why I want to pay particular attention to them – precisely because there’s so much else going on.
Latest / Yesterday
- What new things have I discovered about life?
A man I’ve known for a long time told me about an internship at an industrial plant, working shifts and doing sandblasting. I know him mainly from working together on committees and at prayer meetings. Hearing about his experiences in a completely different area of life brought him closer to me. I found that precious and lovely. - What new things have I discovered about myself?
I find it hard to concentrate on one thing for very long. When we were praying on the boat yesterday for God’s blessing, I prayed wholeheartedly… and every now and then, whilst doing so, I used the bolt cutters to cut off some rusty bolts that caught my eye whenever I opened my eyes. For me, that was the perfect balance for concentration.
Yes, I’d like to invite you to join in. And to share a comment about a memorable moment you’ve experienced.
