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Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday. My name is Mark Des Cotes, I always buy white sneakers, and I believe if you aren’t learning, you aren’t living. In today’s episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday I talk about opening your eyes to what’s around you.
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Today’s Fun Fact of the Day: In Scotland it is illegal to be in possession of a cow while under the influence of alcohol. I would love to know what happened that lead to a law like this being made..
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Here’s What I leaned yesterday
We have a metal gazebo on our deck. In the spring, summer and fall, it shelters us from the sun while we sit on our outdoor furniture. In the winter months, when our furniture is put away, we hang a bird feeder from a ceiling hook in it’s centre. The feeder is mostly protected from the elements and having it so close to the house allows us to watch our feathered friends from the warm comfort of our kitchen and living room.
We watch sparrows, chickadees, finches, nuthatches as well as the odd woodpecker as they feed on the black oil sunflower seeds we put out. Some mornings there could be as many as 30 or 40 birds coming and going from the feeder at any one time.
Last week, while watching with my wife, she wondered if the birds ever got tired of eating the same thing over and over. She decided to look up online what other things we could feed them and as luck would have it, we had many of the suggested menu items in our pantry. My wife filled a bowl with tasty bird treats and trudged through our snow filled deck to put the bowl on the ground beneath the feeder.
We watched as bird after bird flew to the feeder, took a sunflower seed and left. A few ventured to the snow below searching for seeds that may have fallen from the feeder above but they completely ignored the bowl as if they had blinders on and couldn’t see it. Only two or three birds ever ventured to it and discovered the new food. We could tell by their markings that it was those same few birds that kept returning to the bowl while their friends picked from the feeder or searched the ground around the bowl. It was actually quite frustrating to watch.
By mid morning the following day the feeder was empty. Birds flew up to it but left empty handed. Some flew to the ground and if lucky, found a few dropped seeds. All the while, the bowl was still on the ground mostly untouched.
The birds were so focused on the familiar, flying to the feeder, grabbing a seed and flying away that they had blinders on preventing them from seeing the rest of their environment and the opportunities around them.
What did I learn?
We, as human beings enjoy structure. At home, at work and at play, our lives are made up of familiar routines and for the most part we’re content with following them. Just like the birds, we go through life with blinders on, not realizing what is around us and what opportunities are there for us to take.
To illustrate my point, think of this situation. Have you ever been a passenger in a car, on a route that you normally drive yourself? What do you notice around you?
I’ve always been the driver in our family. I prefer to be behind the wheel than in the passenger seat. I didn’t matter if we took my truck or Kim’s car I would drive, it wasn’t even a question. However, when Kim and I bought our new car in September she was so excited to have a new vehicle that she insisted on driving.
For the first time since we built our house almost 10 years ago I was a passenger on our route into and out of town. And you know what? I saw so many things I had never noticed in all the years I had been driving those roads. Beautiful houses I had never seen before, shops I didn’t know existed. All those year driving those same familiar roads I had been doing it with blinders on. Now, of course, I was being a good driver and keeping my eye on the road, but I’m just using this to illustrate my point. It doesn’t matter if you’re at home, at the office, on vacation, or wherever. There are so many things, so many sights, and so many opportunities for you to discover if only you break form your routine, take the blinders off and look around.
Doing so could lead to great business opportunities, or wonderful adventures. It could also lead to a more peaceful and less stressful household.
Discovering these opportunities could also change the direction of your life.
I wouldn’t be talking to you today if I had stuck to my routines. A few years ago I was content with just listening to podcasts. But when I couldn’t find one talking about the TV show Orphan Black, instead of just accepting the fact and continued on without, I saw an opportunity to break from my routine and start podcasting myself, which eventually led to me sharing this with you.
So keep your eyes and ears open, and when opportunity presents itself, take a peek into that bowl to see what you’ll find. Don’t go through life with blinders on.
I’m Mark Des Cotes, and this has been Stuff I Learned Yesterday.
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