Try a New Thing Every Week — Sunday Ridgewood Trip

I was reading a book on treating ourselves as a business, which encourages us to try different new things to explore ourselves better. The immediate impact on me is: the moment I got up this morning, an impulse came out of mind — go to some town nearby and don’t stay at home.

Within half an hour, I found the place to go — Ridgewood, a medium-sized town in NJ. I booked the train tickets, packed a book, and 40 minutes later, I was on the train watching the trees flashing by.

This trip was amazing! I randomly walked in the town, smelling the fragrance of soil, feeling the breeze, stepping onside the fallen maple leaves, appreciating the cute houses and delicate stores. I even bumped into two deers and one squirrel! Two little girls were walking their dog and laughing, a couple were climbing up the tilted road to the coffee shop, and music came out of a house where I could hear the house owner cleaning the yard. All these are so different from the city, and I know I enjoy it.

Remember the book I packed? I find it a great experience reading it inside the train and at a local coffee shop. All the background noise and people around gave me the feeling that I was also part of them, part of the local people, and helped me focus. And actually, I read much more than I usually did when I stayed at home during the weekends. A good finding about myself!

I enjoy Ridgewood a lot, and more importantly, the exploration of new living style. I realize taking a train and going to a nearby town doesn’t take much time, and it’s more rewarding than I previously thought. I got to focus more on the train and think more deeply about myself.

I took the first step to explore new things, which have been going on but I just ignored them for a long time. The same could possibly apply to many other things. Without trying it myself, I am very likely to overestimate the cost. And the more I go out and try them myself, the less terrified I would be.