This concept is foreign to the vast majority of the population for a number of reasons, not the least of which is “efficiency”. We have brought upon ourselves a curse in the name of productivity that has certainly increased output, but has dramatically decreased input. We tend to organize our lives in scheduled segments based on the desired goal or outcome. This organization is excellent for increasing efficiency but it also puts the focus on the goal, forsaking the road to the goal, which is really where the enjoyment comes from. We get up in the morning at a certain time to get bathed and dressed, eat breakfast and are on the road to work in order to be there by a certain time. We maneuver through our routine just as we have for years focused on getting to work, completing our tasks at work, getting home in time for dinner, catching up with world events on TV and to bed in time to be up and at it the next day. Weekends are planned out and executed in a similar fashion and we achieve a sense of fulfillment from our measurable accomplishments.
Barbequia is about this and much more. What I have described is merely living life. If you add a bit more attention to your surroundings it may even be experiencing life, but Barbequia is about actively experiencing life and the key word here is actively. To experience life, we need to be aware of the endless sensory input made available to us everywhere we are. In other words, we need to be aware of our surroundings, the beauty that surrounds us, the people who influence us, the animals that depend on us, the events that unfold before us, and contemplate their effect in our lives and be grateful for that effect. This in itself requires a concentrated effort to break out of the mind numbing schedule we have set for ourselves and allow ourselves to experience life. But to actively experience life, we need to take it a step further. Actively experiencing life means actually going out of your way to find new experiences, meet new people, engage in new activities and see new sights, while appreciating and loving the effect they have on our life.
I know someone that lives in the South East sector of Portland OR and travels every day to the Lloyd Center Mall where he works. The trip to work was so instinctive, he often found himself on I-205 headed to The Lloyd Center when he intended to go to Clackamas, which is in the other direction only to cuss and say something like “I’m just like a mule, let me go and I’ll head to work or home and that’s it”. After some exposure to the Barbequian philosophy, he decided to start implementing the concept of actively experiencing life and to start he simply altered his route to work. For the next week, he took a different route each day and made an effort to notice, take in and appreciate as much as he could along the way. The following weekend, he had a full day with his wife and family visiting some local shops they had never noticed before, enjoyed the most impressive magnolia tree they had ever seen, ate BBQ sausages at a small German restaurant he had noticed and visited a new park they didn’t know existed. By going out of his way and allowing an extra 10-15 minutes drive time, he actively experienced things that allowed him to further actively experience more things. This concept applies in every aspect of our life. Work is only as monotonous or boring as we want to make it.
Not long ago, I was working for Verizon Wireless in customer service and having never had that particular career experience before, I have come to the conclusion that everyone should have to work in retail and a call center at least once in their life. If everyone had that experience, this world would most definitely be a better place because we would all be a lot nicer. With that gratuitous philosophical plug out of the way, my point is that while I was working for Verizon Wireless, my job became extremely monotonous, lacking in challenge and well, it’s a call center – need I say more? Just as I thought I couldn’t stand another day, I realized that actively experiencing life applies to work as well and I found ways to experience my job. Every call became an opportunity to learn about other’s outlook, problems, reactions, etc. I found I could have fun when others around me were frustrated, bored or just going through the motions. My partner, knowing my situation, would periodically send a text message to my cell phone saying “in the next hour you have to use the word urinate in a call”. It was fun, funny and hard to do appropriately, but made experiencing my job became a lifestyle through a period of concerted effort.
This is an important concept worth reiterating – we create a Barbequian lifestyle through a period of concerted effort in the various areas of our life. This effort or focus will create the habits we want to adopt and as they become automatic, we focus on something new or higher. It is an ongoing process that builds on what is already mastered. This illustrates another concept I will insert briefly at this point before going on. In Barbequia there are no “masters”, only disciples with more or less experience in any given area. We realize that we can always add to whatever we think we have mastered, therefore mastery as such doesn’t exist. We also realize that by considering one’s self a master of anything, it limits our ability to expound on that area any further, ensuring the squelch of mastery.
Our modern society has a plethora of things to offer for us to actively experience life, and all we have to do is look for them. Most cities have a local periodical with information on local events, concerts, festivals, fairs, markets, and restaurant reviews. Make a habit of walking to the nearest shop that has the local periodical, pick it up every week and glance through it. Watch for what’s going on in your locality and go experience it, break out of your comfort zone and try something new. Many of the activities are free or nearly free, so to experience something new every week or so, isn’t far-fetched. By doing so, we open our minds and hearts to possibilities never before imagined with rewards in terms of personal growth beyond description. All we have to do to get this snowball rolling is start actively experiencing life and life will take it from there.