Do it like it’s the first time

When was the last time you did something for the first time, asked a friend recently. Quite a question and, boy, did it have me stumped.

I couldn’t for the life of me think of anything. Not a single thing. I mean, sure, I’ve been to a restaurant that I’ve never been to before and I have taken a different route to work, but overall, in the greater scheme of things, life seems to be one giant routine.

We just do the same things over and over. Our parents set the tone from birth when we, as babies, were bathed at the same time every day, ate the same food at the same time, went to bed at the same time.

Then, as we grow up, we continue the trend. There must be comfort in routine.

Sure, there are changes. Sometimes massive ones, like going to school, or starting a new job. But today’s change is tomorrow’s routine. Today’s challenges are inevitably tomorrow’s boredoms.

But I wasn’t giving up that easily. Surely I must have done something for the first time recently? I racked my brain – but not for the first time.

Even holidays are in a way a routine away from one’s routine.

We tend to go to the same places and do the same things with the same people.

Looking at past holiday photographs confirmed my worst suspicions: we not only do the same things over and over, but, by golly, we even do it wearing the same clothes. I kid you not.

And there I thought I was Mr Adventurous.

Obviously, some things are always worth doing again. Like skinny-dipping in the ocean at midnight, having an R&R in Fernando’s (if you don’t know, Google it), watching the sun come up over the Indian Ocean, eating fresh prawns directly off the grill. And the list continues.

When was the last time? The question was now starting to haunt me.

But a wry smile escaped my friend’s face as he savoured a cold beer on the beach while the world was at work.

That’s when it struck me: it’s not about necessarily doing anything for the first time.

It’s about doing it like it’s the first time.

Danie Toerien

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