Learning to Pay Attention

I cannot count the number of times I have heard someone say that there is nothing to do in the Lafayette area that doesn’t involve eating food or consuming a beverage. I admittedly subscribed to this theory for the last several years as a master’s student at Purdue University, often complaining that there was nothing to do. But as any resident of Lafayette probably knows, this theory is laughably inaccurate.

In Julia Cameron’s book the Artist’s Way, she claims that the trick to getting through a difficult time or leading a creative life in general is to pay attention. And that is exactly what I had not been doing.

A few days ago I took a walk from my new apartment in Lafayette (where I am settling in for the next four years that will hopefully end with me exchanging the Ms. Lillie for Dr. Lillie). I removed the headphones I usually wear when in transit and dropped the brisk from my walking pace.

And I took the trouble of looking around.

I came across a group of people playing dulcimer music in Centennial Park. They are apparently there every Tuesday night. I noticed a bookstore I had not been to, the Civic Theater I knew existed but had never bothered to locate, and countless murals. I saw posters for festivals I had previously avoided and intriguing storefronts for artists and antique dealers. I even saw a tree that looked a bit like a skinny dragon. And I saw possibility.

It wasn’t the town that was lacking in creativity or excitement. It was me.

I want to know more about this area, try new things, and show just how beautiful this place actually is. But most importantly, I want to learn to pay attention.

To that end, I have set a challenge for myself. That challenge is this blog.

I intend to post every one or two weeks, highlighting a new facet of the greater Lafayette area. There will be pictures (I have been woefully ignoring my camera) and the details of my experiences. Anything from theater performances to dragon trees to maybe someday trying to play with the dulcimer group is fair game. Suggestions are welcome.

I have never successfully maintained a blog and I know graduate school is indescribably time consuming, but a year from now I intend to have written upwards of 26 posts. If anyone wants to join me in whatever exploration/adventure/activity I am planning or berate me if I fail to make a post, you are more than welcome do so. 

It's time I started paying attention.