Taking the Scenic Route

​When I was a kid my dad was sometimes struck with an adventurous urge.  Driving home  from school he would suddenly turn down a random street. We'd end up somewhere else:  an old grain elevator, the trailer he lived in  before I was born, or a little known curve of creek behind the fairgrounds. He called this 'taking the scenic route'.
 
Taking the scenic route is what happens when you surprise yourself.  You start off with a plan of some kind, then you follow your curiosity and take an unexpected turn. That's what happened to me when I took a trip to Taos, NM and thought- hey I like it here.
 
I migrated to Taos this winter and settled in a little casita. Taos is a small town of about 3,000 people tucked between mountains and the edge of the Rio Grande. Standing at the edge of the mountains you can see for miles and miles, and the sky is so big it feels like an ocean. 
 
Its been a few months. I've found a nice coffee shop, a beautiful hike by the river, and a mesa that is covered with potshards over a thousand years old. People here say that the mountains decide whether you stay or go, so I've been saying hello to them every day and working on developing a good relationship. 
 
Taking the scenic route helped me find a place to call home for a while. When I started out, I was certain I was going to live in Sedona, Arizona.  It turned out my spirit had a different journey in mind. 
 
Following your curiosity by 'taking the scenic route' is one way to use your intuition as a compass. You don't have to move to another city to try this approach in your life. An easy way to start is to:
 
1.  Notice what you're attracted to.
 
2.  Make a choice to explore it in some small way. 
 
You can do this in small, everyday ways. You might be shopping for groceries and find yourself attracted to a food you wouldn't normally eat. You might be on a walk or a drive and notice a street or a path you haven't travelled before. Then, after you make the choice to follow your curiosity:
 
3.   Notice what happens next. 
 
What do you get to experience and how does it make you feel to trust your intuition in this way?  What kinds of small and large adventures follow from your choice? When you open up to your curiosity you might be surprised at what happens next.  An ordinary day can turn into a space for wonder and connection when you take the scenic route. Or maybe, like me, you'll find a path that you didn't know was there- and you'll want to keep exploring it .  Wherever your life adventures take you, I'm wishing you well. 

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