First Times

Like it is - According to Diane
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​It’s 7:00 p.m. A few months ago I had this idea for a blog. I would suggest a topic, invite a friend to write, and we would have one topic, but two voices. Truth is, this idea was a spin-off of something my brother once said. I was telling him how much I loved Danielle Laporte because she, “Says it like it is.”
 
To which he replied, “She says it like it is … to her.”
 
I have thought a lot about this idea, and hence, the one topic two voice post idea was born.
 
First times. This is freestyle writing. My great friend, Vail (author of the other post) and I write for 30 minutes. All edits, links, words, punctuation, styling in.
 
The ideas for this post started flowing last Sunday. I was talking with Ricky (my hubs) about the ideas that are dancing around in my head right now. I said to him, “my wheels are spinning” and then I looked down and realized how true that was. We were riding our bikes. You know when things just feel so right? This is one of those times in my life, a moment when pieces are falling into place. Magically. Oh so magically.
 
First times.
 
Throughout the week I have been seeing first times everywhere. It like the Anthony Robbins, Shift your Focus video. 
 
My friend Sara posts on Instagram, a picture of her Garmin as she trains for 70.3 Cartagena, her first triathlon. Ricky opened up his shop – first night to the public. First time Niva slept in a different room than us, first time I made soup with radish, first time I said this, or did that … the list is long and each day I was seeing how many firsts actually exist.
 
Each day is really a giant, or small … whatever size you want it, canvas. It’s the first day you have that day, and the first time you have that time. And when you vision a day like this, you can then get wild with the colors of your words, the luster of your breath, the shine and shadows of your thoughts, the length of your stride, and the tools and techniques you learn along the way.
 
Because what is this life but a supersized series of first times.
 
Don’t be afraid to start is all I say. The colors want to dance too. 
 
The canvas awaits. 

Like it is - According to Vail
 
It is almost impossible to describe that feeling.  Your heart is racing, there is a tingling in your extremities and a sinking in your gut.  It is the first time.
 
As I think back on my life there is a first time that sticks out that had me feeling all jumbly inside.  I still remember the fear, excitement and newness as I slid my airplane window up and realized I was half-way across the world.  It was the first time to step into a world where English was not spoken.  The first time to be in the world on my own.  At 15, as I stepped onto Austrian soil, I had the opportunity to be abroad, to expand my concept of the world.  As I have grown, and hopefully matured, I still chase after that first-time feeling of experiencing the expanse of the universe.  As I reflect on why that moment had such a profound effect on me, it is because doing something you have never done before creates a unique experience where you are locked into the now.  I have learned so much about the power of the now and what is allows us to tap into.

1. Your senses are on fire.  When we haven’t tasted it, smelled it, felt it before there is this luxurious sensory overload that etches those feelings into your brain.  I can still feel the rich, black dressing on my salad from my first meal in Austria.
2. You are present.  I mean REALLY present.  You do NOT want to miss anything.  As we repeat experiences, we tend to edit, take out what we didn’t absolutely love the first time.  We tune out when it isn’t as fresh.  However, each time I travel to a new spot, I drink in the information and moments because I know I may never get them back.
3. Possibilities are endless.  As we go through life, we tend to begin to categorize and make assumptions based on our experiences.  We think we know how things are going to turn out.  However, when we lack that prior knowledge, we are free to be in the flow of possibility.  In the day to day it is east to turn down an opportunity but when you are traveling somewhere for the first time; you bungee jump, you turn down the road less traveled and you talk to a stranger.

 
As we have more and more adventures in life, the first-times seem to be fewer and farther between.  We have less opportunity to access that newness and excitement.  However, it is not impossible.  Get creative and find something wild, or even better, pretend that every new day is the first time again.  Brush your teeth for the first time, eat your breakfast for the first time and smile at someone for the first time.  That might be the key to living life to its fullest.  “First-time it” every day of your life.