I usually walk Coqui in the morning. Coqui is a dog. He loves stopping to sniff and pee on everything. He's the classic dog. Bushes were made for marking, and he has big plans. I'm not in a hurry, it's a leisurely walk. I'm not power walking the block. (Is there a band name called Walking the Block? That sounds like a good band name). I usually walk Coqui around the same time every morning, 9am, so the surroundings are pretty standard. Nothing out of the ordinary. Pigeons, Ford Focus, and garbage cans. Got it. Seen it.
However, last week I walked Coqui in the evening, after a show at Blacktop. It was late, but not so late that everyone was asleep. The world was still alive, but this was a different world. Music was drifting down from bedrooms, TVs blaring sport clips on ESPN (I'm pretty familiar with that dah-du-dah dah-du-dah,) and smells wafting from late night porch dinners. It was a drifting, blaring, and wafting world.
It was fantastic! Same Roseville street, but suddenly so much more vibrant, and alive. A change of time changed the space. I wasn't bored. I was intrigued. What were they eating? What is that band? Are they talking about football? I wonder how the San Francisco 49ers will do this off season.
My mind was suddenly filled with thoughts, and ideas, and I didn't plan that. I had no plans to think about Kapernick and the failing niners. I wasn't thinking, "I should really invest in a cookbook." I just experienced these thoughts, because I switched up Coqui walking time.
It's amazing how much our brain generates when we change things, when we move from the familiar to the new. One of the best teachers I ever had was Mark Sutton and Joe Bill who told us, a room full of improv nerds furiously scribbling down everything they shared, "a pizza place is a big location. Try being in the break room."
Brilliant! How many times have you began a suggestion of "Pizza Hut" tossing dough in the air. Go ahead, raise that hand! You know you've done it! We all have! But, how stale does that scene start feel (fine! You got me! pun intended). Tossing pizzas in the air is like walking Coqui at 9am. Look around, you've been here before! It's hard to see something new when we're beginning with such familiar territory. Our mind can feel in a rut, and it's not generating any new thoughts.
But, start in the break room, and suddenly, you notice the security system, a bottle of Jameson Whiskey, and a dart board. That's new! Time to play.