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#5: Explore EVERYTHING that Interests You!

Enjoy the quest for knowledge and experience.

By Chris Dunmire, CoachingYourCreativity.com

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Ways to Explore New Things

I can easily name over a dozen different ways you can explore any new subject you'd like, but I'd like to focus on two free-sources everyone can use: the Internet and any public library (most libraries also have free Internet access too). I usually use the Internet in my initial research, but when I really want to get into the meat of a subject, I seek out book titles and head to the local library. Sometimes, if I'm really passionate about the topic, I'll buy a book at a bookstore or Amazon.com for my personal library.

When I visit the library I feel like I’m standing on the edge of a knowledge smorgasbord because I'm free to sample, appetize on, or make an entire meal out of any subject I'm hungry for. I can pile on the books, dine on DVDs, and relish in a selection of books on tape or CD and pay for it all with the easy swipe of my favorite plastic account: my library card.

In fact, on my last library visit I filled my book bag (I carry an empty bag into the library to fill with creativity food — this is shopping to me!), with eight different titles from a section I rarely check books out from. In my earlier years, I was taught to avoid this section mostly out of superstition and fear, but now as a fearless seeker and explorer I thought to myself:

You know what? I've allowed other people's opinions on this to influence me long enough. I want to educate myself more about this subject and understand life from a different perspective. I may not believe everything I read here or agree with this lifestyle, but at least I'll have more insight into this subculture and be more informed about other people's beliefs.

Open-minded thoughts like this are what exploration is all about.

What about exploring new activities? Depending on the activity, it may be something you can do for free on your own (or with a partner), or it might cost money to try. It could be a one-time deal (like a workshop), or something you have to commit to for a schedule of time (like a college course). It could be cheap (like getting a sprayed-on tattoo at a circus) or expensive (like taking a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon).

When I first began exploring the stretching benefits of Yoga, I found a place that allowed me to pay only for the classes I attended instead of having to commit to paying for a whole series of them. This way I was able to try the new activity at my own pace and not have to invest more money than I was ready to. On the other hand, when I was committed to pursuing a new career as a graphic artist, I seriously invested my time, money, and energy into the training I needed and in acquiring the tools of the trade necessary for success.

Here’s more of my recent subject- and activity-related explorations for your enjoyment, inspiration, and amusement:

• I planted my first vegetable and sunflower gardens so I could take an active part in witnessing the ever-growing intention of life. Nature rewarded me with a humorous trick and gave me back scare-rots instead of carrots just in time for Halloween.

• I traveled to Tombstone, Arizona, to learn about the famous historic Old West town and its people. I made a special effort to explore the haunted Bird Cage Theatre three times!

• I toured an old copper mine in Bisbee, Arizona, (complete with miner gear) to learn how mines operated 100 years ago.

• I traveled to both Hershey and Gettysburg Pennsylvania to experience the bitter-sweet contrast of a chocolate town with the ravages of the Civil War.

• I read several of my personal essays to an audience of strangers at a Barnes and Noble book store event to initiate myself as a writer (and see if I had the nerve).

• I taught a free, 6-week summer Creativity Camp for neighborhood children in my back yard to experience the thrill of teaching, mentoring, and inspiring small lives.

• I took several workshops on the Chakras and read a variety of books on energy medicine so I could understand holistic health and healing more.

• I took up swimming again after 20 years being out of the water to re-experience the chlorine-smelling, weightless wonders of exercising and playing in the pool water.

• I put my Rollerblades® on again after 10 years of skatelessness and stumbled my way around the block to see if I still “had it” (we'll just move this to the "needs more practice" list.)

• I intentionally ate a meal in a restaurant solo and attended a movie by myself to see if it was as lonely as it looked. It wasn't. And I've done it again and again since.

• I took in a whole week of Elvis Presley documentaries when the 30th anniversary of his death was marked because I didn't know as much about his life as I did about the circumstances surrounding his death.

• I had several sessions with a life coach who helped me work through some tight spots in my personal life.

• I submitted my enrollment application and transcripts to a local college because I plan to pursue some coursework in working artistically with children.

• I joined an online "social network" Web site geared towards professional creatives to keep up with the latest and greatest Web technologies and promotional/marketing opportunities for my work.

• I signed up to coach an 8-week little girl's basket ball league so I can positively influence more budding lives towards the value of teamwork, physical activity, self-confidence, and play, and to explore if I'd like to do more coaching with kids.

• • • Take Action Now! • • •

Isn't it a gift to be privileged with endless opportunities each day to explore anything that interests us? And if you keep in mind that exploring doesn’t necessarily have to mean committing yourself to or agreeing with, it really takes the pressure off. Exploring means to look into, to sample, to see if it fits (just like kitty sticking her head into my cup to sample its contents). Then, if you choose to dig into an area deeper and examine it more fully, you have that freedom to, which ultimately, makes your creative life richer too. •

© 2007 Chris Dunmire, CoachingYourCreativity.com. All rights reserved. (10/23/07). Please do not duplicate this article elsewhere without my permission.

About the Author
Chris Dunmire is a thriving humorist, creativity enthusiast, kid's artshop facilitator, and creative director and publisher of the popular "Writer's Digest Best" Creativity-Portal.com. Chris trained as a creativity coach with Eric Maisel, Ph.D., and is the innovative mind behind the famous 'Cashius monetarius' Dollar Bill Origami Money Plant project. Learn more about Chris's creative printable playbooks at CreativeSlush.com.