Let's Make Our Own Experiments
Am I living my life to
its fullest potential? Sometimes I wonder about this, and while learning about and reading Mill’s ideas about the
experiments of living is all well and good, actually implementing them into
our lives (I feel) is very important. I often wonder whether or not I'm actually utilizing my individual freedom to make choices, because of this certain phenomenon called familiarity. I, among with the majority of people tend to stick to whatever we're familiar with, and whatever we know we like. Why do we do this? I'm not enough of a coward to be afraid of trying a different cup of flavored coffee when at Starbucks, but I do seem to have a tendency to not even think about trying something new, let alone trying a new coffee shop (I do have to admit though, the holiday cups are amazing enough to make me not want to go elsewhere).
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| Courtesy of: http://omgobsessed.com/2010/11/02/starbucks-holiday-cups/ |
So, I do have a story, of one time I exercised my free will to make a choice that I would not come to regret. I just wanted to try something new, and after some research, I found these
trapeze lessons offered in New York City that none of my friends knew about. I made the decision to go, and here is what I wrote after the experience:
At first, you’re motivated. You’re climbing the trembling ladder up towards a 23 feet platform with the wind blowing hair onto your face and the radiant sun blocking your vision from above. But you persist to climb steadily. Next, you can see the compact platform and realize that one misplaced step can lead to your downfall. “Slow and steady wins the race,” you think. There’s someone up there to help you; “everyone is on your side,” you think. But fear is beginning to win over. You hold onto the ladder for dear life as he straps you to a safety cord and he tells you to smile but you’re trying to remember all of the instructions they told you before you climbed up. Your mind is blanking and your body is numb but you try to fight the fear. With one hand on the bar and the other on the ladder, he tells you to grab the bar with your other hand. Fear has seized your consciousness and seeped into your words, as you stutter in your speech. His grip tightens on the cord around your waist as he urges you to fix your posture. You slowly inch forward, but only when your willpower overcomes fear does your left hand comply to take hold of the bar, and slowly you’re left dependent upon the stranger behind you. At that point, you worry that your hands will slip and you try to look for ways to take control of the situation but there’s nothing left to do but let go and trust him. A voice below you yells and you close your eyes and leap forward, and suddenly the wind rushes through your hair and you can feel the rush of flying for the first time in your life. You have no inkling of what is to happen next, but this time you begin to trust yourself as the sun and wind and sky succeeds to engulf your feather-like mass of body. They’re shouting instructions at you and soon, you’re hanging from your knees and taking in the earth below but only seeing a blur of what seems to be pure exhilaration as your senses seem to all collide into one. And suddenly you know that fear is the only thing stopping you from beginning to really, truly, live.
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| Mill was right; I resisted conformity and made a choice that lead to a positive experience. |
My experience was a positive one, but of course, not all of our choices will result in the same way. Because most of us would not embark upon
experiments of living that include roped solo free climbing or obsessive
pot-smoking, there are other (health-benefiting) ways to try experiments in
living from a practical standpoint. So, I cultivated a list of new things I
(and others) could try doing to experiment different ways of living, and meanwhile improve our lifestyles.
1. Start trying a new food or drink item each time you go to eat. Also, stop getting your "usual." If workers at a restaurant can recognize you, that's your cue to leave!
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| Courtesy of: http://perfectbucketlist.tumblr.com |
2. Relinquish your DJ'ing rights to your roommate, to try listening to new music. Be open-minded. (Listen to
french hip-hop, like we did in lecture).
3. Say "yes" to everything for one day. See where it takes you.
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| Courtesy of: http://depositphotos.com/5841565/stock-photo-Time-to-say-yes.html |
4. Start writing letters to a pen-pal. Yes, a LETTER. No, you cannot use your iPhone. How preposterous!
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| Courtesy of: http://perfectbucketlist.tumblr.com |
5. Learn how to cook. Make your own creation.
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| Courtesy of: http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-illustration-3423061-the-young-cook.php |
6. Make an active effort to get to know people different that you. You can learn a lot about different cultures, and you can find new things to like.
7. Start a 30-day challenge to accomplish a certain goal you've always meant to accomplish, but never got around to. Can you do it?
8. Tie frustrations to balloons and let them go. Quite literally, put the past behind you. I've never done this, but I feel like it might be fulfilling.
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| Courtesy of: http://perfectbucketlist.tumblr.com |
9. Wake up early enough to do yoga every morning.
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| Courtesy of: http://perfectbucketlist.tumblr.com |
10. Visit some place you've never been to. Marvel, and repeat.
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| Courtesy of: http://perfectbucketlist.com |
This is just a list of ten things I want to try (because YOLO). You may not want to, but then again you also have the capability to make your own choices.
I really enjoyed this post because it was very different from the normal type of blog posts that I read. Instead of connecting something to a topic from class, you simply explained an example and suggestions to fulfill Mill's experiments of living. I also enjoyed the layout of this blog with all of the pictures.
ReplyDeleteYour points about how to experience the fullest out of your life also got me thinking. By experiments of living, do you think that Mill would have wanted us to have one large step outside our comfort zone (trapeze lessons)and then return to familiarity, or would he have wanted us to make small changes in our life as you suggested in your list? I also wonder if Mill would have wanted us to structure our lives around experiments of living by letting them become all that we do. He might have wanted us to use these experiments to improve our current life.
Robin, this is a great post that was a pleasure to read. Although I've contemplated many of the points you bring up, I've never given serious thought to taking action. Going back to your opening paragraph, I think people stick to things that they're comfortable and familiar with because it's what has pleased them in the past. It's similar to the idea of not needing to fix something that's not broken. If you really enjoy that same cup of coffee, why take the risk of buying something you enjoy less, even though there most likely is something else that you like even more. People often fear change. It's why people are often times afraid and nervous to go to their first day of high school (or college) as a freshman.
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoyed the description of your trapeze experience and your list of 10 things to try. It makes me curious to what great things in life I'm missing out on. I'll admit that at some restaurants I get the exact same thing each time. Next time, I'll try something different because I'm almost certain that there's something on the menu that I'll like more. This has inspired me to experiment more because although there is definitely always something worse, there is also something better, and you'll never find that better thing unless you try different things.
Robin, I like this post because you turned Mill’s ideas into specific examples. Writing a blog in list form made it easier to focus on each of your future experiences. Using your own items on your bucket list was a good way of talking about Mill’s idea about freedom of action. I agree when Mill’s says people need to try out different lifestyles. Yes, they should start with a different flavor of coffee but then should grow into larger life changes. Mill enforces the importance of variety, and I feel like that could translate into variety in our own lives. This blog post made me consider what in my life hasn’t changed recently, and how that could be restricting some parts of my life. Most of us sit and wait for change to come to us, when in truth; we have to actively seek positive change. Your account of the trapeze experiment is the perfect example, because like you said, fear is really the only thing holding one back. If we suspend fear, we could all do so much more with our lives, something Mill would have encouraged us to pursue.
ReplyDeleteRobin, thats awesome that you tried flying (on the trapeze) for the first time, I have been flying for many years now because I learned how to at my summer camp when I was very young. I think your suggestions for experimental living are great, especially the ones that aren't a "one-time-thing" such as yoga every morning, because I think those types of experiments can actually change your lifestyle and change you as a person, hopefully for the better. It aligns with the phrase "give a man a fish and you will feed him for one day, teach a man to fish and you will feed him for a lifetime," which i try to live by as much as possible so I can have a lot of diversity and autonomy in my life. For example instead of just flying once, I learned how to perfect flying and through this i learned how to conquer my fears of distance and gravity, as well as become disciplined through practice, which made me disciplined and dedicated to other parts of my life like school. I hope that you have been checking things off this great list, and are experimenting more everyday!
ReplyDelete