Joanne's StarTeacher Blog

Doing something familiar seems easy. When we try something for the first time, particularly when aspects are totally new to us, it may seem more difficult. Keeping an open mind allows our creative and intuitive right brain to help us adapt to the situation. If all goes well, we can change what was first strange into an interesting experience. Or, it may even become an adventure! A few weeks ago the new subway line opened in my neighborhood. This simple event has been much a waited for the past several years to provide more efficient access to the Washington DC metropolitan area. So when it finally opened, I decided to try it out. Not having travelled by subway for quite awhile, I wasn’t familiar with the program of how to go about getting a ticket, finding the correct platform and determining the appropriate fare. So taking the subway on this day was to be an adventure! First I drove into the main facility and easily found the parking garage; however, determining the actual level on which to Park took some intuitive figuring. Who knew just parking could be so complicated! Once parked, I got out of my car to see another woman doing exactly the same thing – arriving at the same time and appeared to be just as lost as I was. I called out to her asking if she was familiar with how to find the platform or buy a ticket. She replied that it was her first time there and she didn’t know either. A fellow adventurer had just arrived! So I walked up to her and said, “together we can figure this out”. She seemed pleased to have someone with whom to navigate this unfamiliar territory. After making introductions, we walked off together as if we we’re old friends chatting away as we motioned to each other as to how to first take the elevator up to the correct level, walk across the pedestrian bridge, and then over to the main metro area to buy tickets. The system had changed since my last Metro experience and so she was helpful to me in how to use the more sophisticated and to me, ominus farecard machines. After helping me to procure a ticket, my new friend and I headed for the correct platform. I soon felt like a pro since as we were at the end of the line, this station merely had 2 platforms to “go” or “come back” from Downtown! I smiled to myself as I became more comfortable with the whole experience.  Once the train arrived, we boarded sitting next to each other and began the 45 minute ride into the city. I enjoyed her company as we shared life stories while the train hummed along, the chatting serving to make the travel time go much faster than if I’d gone alone. Her stop came up first and we said good bye, both having had a new adventure while doing something quite ordinary. But isn’t life like that? We can either avoid doing things that are unfamiliar or we can embrace life looking for what we can experience that’s new or different; or learn or perhaps meet some one that can add to our lives. In short, we can turn the unfamiliar into an adventure!