”Ladies and gentleman, let me lay on you a so-so entertainer,
not much of a humanitarian, and this cat was never nobody’s friend.
In his final appearance on the great stage of life – uh, you can applaud if you want to…”

We’re always looking for something new.  New events, new toys, new gear, new apps, whatever. Even a new us occasionally. Probably ever since the phrase “24 hour news cycle” was invented, we’ve been on a continual race to a state of constant boredom.  I mean let’s face it, for most of us not much new really happens.  Instead were distracted by repetition cycles, where the same stuff, the same actions and the stories are repackaged in slightly different ways just far enough apart that they seem like, something new. 

If you read blogs much or any media these days you’ll see it quickly enough.  Heck, I’m as guilty as anyone.  The stories cycle.  They have to.  I mean,  how would you keep a blog or a magazine going year after year about a niche subject without constantly repeating much of the same stuff.  In my local tourism world the repetition cycle is guided by events and season. It’s almost like clockwork; Spring events, summer holidays, fall colors, skiing reports… you know the drill.. When it comes to things like sea kayaking, you just hope that enough new people have joined the niche in the last year or so that at least some folks find it new.  That’s the state of most media these days.. There’s so much out there and it’s all so repetitive that there’s no wonder nobody wants to pay for it.  (Regardless of what the Apple iPad team says!)

I think that might be one of the realization cusps that we cross as we get a bit older.  We come to realize that even in our ever-changing world, very little is actually all that new and the stuff we’re told is new is often little more than something old, repackaged.  I mean, how many versions of “The Thing” do we really need?  How many stories “re-imagined”?  There’s something to be said for a classic film, an old kayak, an old car, and maybe most of all, an old pair of jeans!  There’s a rewarding, no bulls#it factor.

Of course, I’m a techie so I’m full of contradiction when it comes to new verses old.  I love new stuff as much any anyone really. Especially when it comes to fun toys and technology. I just don’t get too enamored of the momentary shine, my love is the new stuff. . . that will keep me happy for years.  And that stuff is hard to come by!  You should see my paddling gear collection… full of once new sparkly stuff that was cool for 15 minutes, until I went back to what actually worked.  New stuff, that lives on to become great old stuff is something nearly miraculous!

So on I go. Each morning I get up and look in the mirror, then like Roy Scheider in All That Jazz, I say to myself, “It’s showtime folks!”. I head out into the kitchen to find my favorite old, chipped cup and fill it with coffee, black.  Then soon, it’s out into the cold morning I go.  I drop my son off to school, then head to my tiny local lake for another go round.  20 days and I find that I’m now crossing into that zen state brought on by repetition with dash of boredom.  That point when you stop looking for something new, and start seeing the same old stuff with a new perspective.  That’s an important point.  After all, our perspective is the one thing that can actually be new, each and every day.  It allows us to cherish our lives, our environment and the people and pets that surround us, even if sometimes it feels like we’re just going around in circles.

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3. Whatcha Need? Kayak shoppers poll
4. The Effect of Living Backwards
5. You, Me & The Wall