THE COOP

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

In Which Chicken Admits to Viewing Altogether Too Many TED Talks.....

Hi World,

This morning when I opened my eyes, too early, I was thinking about ripples. 

Not the potato chip kind of ripples, although those are also very good.

No.  I was thinking about what might happen if I did things 10% differently today than I usually do them.  I'm not sure where the 10% came from.  I'm just telling you what I was thinking. 

In fact, what if we ALL did things 10% differently today than we usually do them?  What would happen? 

Maybe, we'd each cause a ripple in the energy around us, and that ripple would travel out away from us, eventually encountering someone else's ripple, resulting in a joint ripple that would go rippling into some other ripples...

That's a lot of ripples, World.  Pretty soon there would be ripples everywhere.  Maybe even a wave.  Maybe a psychic tsunami!

And then what would happen?  Would the world change?

I know you are probably asking....what kind of ripples are we talking about here?  Okay, let's assume that somewhere someone is asking. 

Nothing big-just little 10% ripples.  We all have our routines-let's start there.  For example, what if today you take a different route to work.  Or if you take the bus (how green, I like your attitude!) and you always sit in the front, today you sit in the back.  Next to that person you see sitting in the same seat in the back every day but have never spoken to.

If you always have pepperoni pizza on Friday night, how about having it on Wednesday night.  I know!  Today is indeed Wednesday.  This is working out wonderfully, isn't it? And how about, if you always do the dishes right after dinner, today you take a walk after dinner instead and leave the dishes.  No, those dishes will not wash themselves.  But maybe someone else will wash them and feel good about themselves for giving you a hand.  See?  Already, the ripples are colliding and sloshing and doing their ripply thing.

Talk to a stranger.  Eat cake.  Turn off the news and listen to some music.  Write a letter.  Draw a picture. Play Monopoly. Stand on your head.  If Father William can do it, surely you can, too. 

I think I will write with my right hand today.

You know who excels at doing things differently?  Little kids.  When littleb wakes up and I ask him, "Hey, littleb, what are you going to do differently today", I know for sure he will have an answer and there will be no hesitation, no confusion.  If I ask BigB what he plans to do differently today, he will most likely give me "the look" (you know the one), shake his head, and go in search of a coffee cup.  But he won't find one.  Because they are all in the back seat of his car. 

BigB could cause a ripple just by cleaning the coffee cups from the back seat of his car.  I'd be all, "Hey, what's this?  An abundance of coffee cups?  I feel happy.  Oh look, there's my favorite San Diego cup.  Why come it has a crack, BigB?".  But that is another story for another time.

Back to the ripples.  Let's practice making some.

C'mon.  It'll be fun.  Be 10% different today and then come back and tell me all about it.   Consider it an experiment.

GG, I am not stoned.

I have, possibly, been watching too many TED Talks.  I linked to my favorite TED talk ever on The Chicken Crossing the Road picture over there to the right.  If you have 20 minutes or so, go ahead and listen.  It will change the way you look at things.  Maybe more than 10%.  That's quite a ripple.

Have an unusually great day, World.

Chicken out

16 comments:

  1. I'll do things differently tomorrow. I've been looking for some positive change and this seems like as good a way as any to upset my stuck in a rut balance.

    Great post Chicken. I'll report back in the next few days.

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  2. That post reads very differently when you stop replacing "ripples" with "nipples."

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  3. You are wild. This is Wednesday. It is my Subway Veggie Patty day. You want me to change that up? Oh no.

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  4. I wondered what would happen if I did things with 10% less ooomph than I normally do. I feel like chicken (or duck) poo today. BUT I like the 10% different in general and since I'm an eternal optimist I would naturally go with it being a positive difference not a 'less' difference. Am I making any sense?

    No GG...I am not stoned...heh maybe sorta wish I was.... JUST KIDDING....sorta

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  5. QIMP-I know you will come up with great things-can't wait to hear about the ripples you make

    EllyLou: You are the second person to notice how very different the word nipple makes this read:-) Hey, whichever way makes it more fun for you, that's what I say. The other guy is busy working on his 10 % by painting his nipples, as we speak.

    Betty-buy TWO subway veg patty sandwiches! You'll be good. Full. But good.

    Daffy-aw. Feel better. Yeah, I should have mentioned that if you haven't had Jack Daniels and Coke for breakfast for the last 10 years, I'm not necessarily advocating that you have it today just to do something different. Clarification here might be necessary.

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  6. ruffles with ridges are the shiz. ripples are a rip-off. but just for you, i'll try lays with my sandwich.

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  7. Hi Patty P. Yeah, Lays. Love them. Or corn chips,even.

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  8. I have to admit, I, too, thought you said you woke up thinking about nipples, and I was intrigued... Changing it to ripples, rather than nipples, took a minute, but after reading a little forward, I was no less intrigued. I know I'm a day late, but you inspired me to make some ripples tomorrow...

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  9. Hmm. I like this. I'm going to try doing things 10% differently starting tomorrow. Well, maybe 5%, because I get the anxiety. But I'll do it!

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  10. I am taking the time today to reorganize my life and to change a little bit more.

    10% here I come!

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  11. Go Ella, Go Ella, Go Ella. Maybe tomorrow I'll do that.

    Suniverse: 5% is also very good. Totally understand about the anxiety.

    Lucky-you too, with the nipples? Okay. Frankly when I read it over it was the very first thing I thought of, as well. Guess we just all have some kind of mommy issue?

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  12. No reason for fear, Missy. You don't have to change. You are fine just the way you are. But ripples are good things, no?

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  13. 10% huh? well, I have about 50% ripples going on in my life. New job and all..
    I have a new commute in Dallas traffic.
    I have caused a few ripples to those drivers who while communting in their Mini Coopers -pulled in front of my lifted up Dually and saw nothing but the under carriage of my truck in their rear view mirror. I mean, I rippled them enough so they dropped the cell phone and ACTUALLY looked at the road :-)

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  14. Chicken, you are on to one of the greatest secrets of life. To never get mired down in the same old, same old, keeps those neurons fired up, helps you elude the trap of "I'm old. I'm cranky. And my life has to Stay. On. Its. Routine. Dammit."

    My dad was the biggest go with the flow guy I know and no matter how old he got, he stayed young. His sister who will be 75 this year, hiked the Grand Canyon last year because, "It was something new and I was running out of things I'd already done."

    Not that I'm saying we should all hike the Grand Canyon. But change the radio station. Give classical or country music a try. Eat at that Nepalese restaurant, even though you're more than a little wary. Befriend a slightly strange, but really talented singer. Ahem. And talk about ripples, we should arrange to meet somewhere where Bob is playing and finagle drinks with our man. With a few glasses of Chardonnay, there would be no stopping the wit and charm of the lethal combination of Chicken and Laundry Girl. Bob would write a song about us, of this I am convinced.

    Ripples. I love the sound of it.

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  15. Hi Scrappy-glad your dually is changing things up a little-eating mini-coopers instead of tiny pick-ups!

    Joann-I hear the call. Let's go to Austin. We'll hit the Grand Canyon on the way back. I'm going to ride a mule!

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