Tag: saying YES

Sense of Adventure: Saying YES

Cover of "Yes"
Cover of Yes

One of the things on my list of 40 things was to say YES more (right after saying NO more! Different reasons…).  Saying YES (to me) means being open to spontaneous adventures and experience and doing things outside my comfort zone.

Sunday my friend Sarah texted and asked if I’d like to come over and get my photo taken for a photo project to be exhibited at the Rochester Art Center.  I didn’t get ready in time but during a walk we found the photographer and it happened.  It wasn’t hard to say YES to having my picture taken but when the camera was walking towards me I did feel a little intimidated.  And it was an in-your-face-photo, so I thought he probably only got my eyes in the frame, but I guess the macro lens captured my entire face.

In Your Face

The photographer was asking random people and having a hard time getting people to say YES to having their photo taken so he was looking for people he knew to bring his numbers up.  Why would someone say NO to  having their picture taken?  Was it the thought of someone getting too close?  The thought of having it hanging on a wall outside of your home?

Well, I said YES and I’m excited to attend the opening of the exhibit tomorrow night*** and to see all of the other Rochester people who said YES.

Off to read!

*** I always write my posts the night before and set them to publish in the morning… so the art exhibit opening is TONIGHT – Thursday!  The exhibit runs for a while, but tonight is the opening night.  Just a clarification!

40 Things (6)

Open book
Image via Wikipedia

Following along with Boof’s 40 Day Challengeleading up to her 40th birthday, her next question is:

6) A book that changed my life

Hmmm.  Not an easy question!  I’m not sure I can point to a book and claim that it changed my life in any big way.  I know that the very presence of books has changed my life.  Books have brought me comfort in times when I needed it and have brought me joy in times when I needed that.  I have lots of vivid memories of the books that I read as a child and have always been known as a reader or a “book worm.”  So does the first book that hooked me in and made me a reader become the book that changed my life?

Being in book club has changed my life.  Connecting with great people over great books (or even not-so-great books) has been a great experience in the past ten or so years.

#6 on my list of Things to do before turning 40 was to “Say YES more – be ready!”  Yesterday I wrote about how “saying no” to an overbooked life was on my list.  This one is about being ready for adventures and the life I want.  It isn’t always easy for me to be spontaneous, as I do like to plan things.  I know that when my daughter went away to college that I adopted the philosophy that “I can do whatever I want,” which was pretty freeing (after the initial despair over bringing her to college).  It was nice to be open to adventures without feeling tied down to responsibilities.

Off to read!