Out With the Old...

It wasn't exactly a new year's resolution, since I don't feel like self-improvement should be set to the calendar, but I decided to try on a new attitude recently. Inspired by my trip to Venice and someone who neither tried to influence me nor who is likely to read this blog, it seemed the perfect time to start trying new things.

In particular, new foods have been the main driving force here. For those who know me well, I'm a terribly picky eater. I'm actually uncomfortable with the idea of eating food I'm not familiar with. Like, it stresses me out badly. So this has been big for me.

Black ink risotto
Fried calamari
Sausage pizza
Shot of vodka
A number of mysterious Venetian chocolates
Peanuts (for someone who loves peanut butter, I know how absurd this is)
Sunflower butter fake-Reese's.

I also complimented a flight attendant who had a cute hat/haircut combo while stuck in JFK for 9 hours.

It's a small start, but it's valuable to me. This attitude helped me to do something I never would've done before now last night; I went to a Reddit meetup at a stranger's house for boardgames. My roommate and a good friend of ours went along with, but it was actually a great time. The host was a really down-to-earth guy who seemed polite, fun, interesting, and comfortable.

It's not easy, but it's important to my development, and I shouldn't have waited this long to start pushing out of my bubble. Seriously, this is terrifying. But, as with all things, it gets easier every time I push myself.

Given my philosophy that complacency and stagnancy are incredibly dangerous and basically at the heart of human fault, it has been a long-standing hypocrisy of mine to refuse to try new foods, and to a lesser extent, new things in general. I do not believe that humankind can progress without knowing what options exist to it; what ways of living haven't been explored; what perspectives remain unexamined. We are creatures of habit, there's no doubt about this. And in fact, some philosophers have suggested that habitual living is ideal, since it allows us to spend our brainpower on "higher thought" rather than the mundane aspects of day-to-day living. However, I don't believe that it's ever healthy to take for granted the environment that we're currently in. If we fail to constantly re-examine our situations, then we're going to miss the subtle changes of hue and shape in the landscape surrounding us. While subtle, these changes can nevertheless be incredibly important. Even when our world appears to be unchanging, it's excellent practice to step back and evaluate what/who it is that surrounds you, whether or not you're happy, what changes you could be making to your life for the better, and where you intend on going in the near future.

This is a very pragmatic philosophy, in keeping with my worldview.
You may figure out the mysteries of the universe, or come up with a unified theory of justice, but if you're not happy; if you're not growing; if you're not experiencing life, then you're still going to wither away. We seek habits because they are comforting, but we thrive on change. Change fertilizes our soil, giving us wild new ideas from which we can learn, develop, and help to fertilize others. Not only that, but when we accept the myriad perspectives in the world as viable, our fear and prejudices begin to wane. Our hatred is replaced with curiosity and intrigue. Passion and love.

I may not be very good at it yet, but I'm trying to embrace this change.
It's important to me at least.