Australia Day 14: I've Seen All There Is To See?

Bus stop on grass!

"Get out of your comfort zone."

Everyone always says this and we all nod our heads thinking "yeah, obviously, totally I'll do that" and then we opt to stay in and watch a movie or scroll through our Facebook news feed instead of going out and exploring our city. 

Our argument: "There's nothing to do today, nowhere to go, nothing to explore. I already know what's out there in my vicinity, no point in doing much else."

WRONG. WRONG. WRONG.

You think there's nothing to do or see. You think you know everything. But how could you possibly know if you haven't explored. I thought I'd learn nothing running through the Cairns suburbs. It would just be houses like I'd seen already. 

Wrong. 

I saw new things (sidewalks covered in manicured grass instead of concrete, bus stops on grass, crazy colonies of ants, random native fruits, a myriad of bird species, abandoned railroads), I made connections to experiences I had in the past (Cairns reminds me a lot of Belarus but far more green), and I got a nice endorphin rush from my run. 

Overall it was a great day and it was all because I decided to push past the hump of "There's no point in doing something since I have no car or no one to hang out with today". I thought I had done everything there is to do in Carins. I had spend 2.5 weeks here last summer, now 2 weeks here this summer, I'd explored and adventured so surely I had seen it all.

LOL, found this little gem on my run

Nope.

I had done the big things but I had completely missed the little nuances of life. I had bulldozed right past them en route to my next white water rafting or bungee jumping adventure. 

Obviously I'm not saying that the big things are bad. 

They are awesome.

Go bungee jumping and rafting and skydiving and hiking and kayaking. 

But also go for a casual run/walk through the local parts of any town/city you're in. Pay attention to what's around you and the little things that you take for granted.

My god how have I spent a total of 4.5 weeks in Cairns in the past year and never noticed how many bird species there are here?? They are all so different and beautiful.

And the ants?

I'm not a fan of ants. They are small and annoying and in Australia (much like everything else here) they bite. 

But I saw two really cool ant colonies doing ant-y things and it just felt good to appreciate this little tidbit of life.

This is a lesson I will definitely keep for life. Next Spring when I'm back in Berkeley and have a lazy day over spring break where I can't think of something to do and am tempted to vegetate in front of my laptop screen watching The Daily Show or reading funny Buzzfeeds I will close my laptop and put on my running shoes. 

I have no idea where I'll go. 

Maybe I won't see any new place but I definitely will see something new. I will become more aware of the little things around me and suddenly that street that I've driven down a million times will be completely different. 

I encourage everyone to do the same. Regardless if you're traveling or if you're in a city that you've lived in for the past decade. 

Broaden and sharpen your sensitivity to alternative types of aesthetic value. 

Just put on some shoes, plug in your favorite audiobook (or playlist) and go.

View of the Marina out of the treehouse

Tree house at the Marina!

Railroad that slowly narrowed and led into
the ground

All of those white specks are ants carrying
bread pieces (or what looked like bread)

The ants were coming in and out of that
hole. In without anything, out with a white
speck on top. They must have found some
storage of food somewhere. Pretty cool to watch
them mill around. 

Green ants carrying a worm

Saw these cool rusted bolts, was really
tempted to pick them up and build
some cool art piece...except I have no
welding equipment :(