Seldom do we take advantage of the offerings around us as a tourist would.  When I travel to the nearest small city it is seldom to visit a museum or gallery, explore the historic fort or wander a path along the river.  Instead I rush in to the big box stores; the long thoroughfare lined with them referred to a Anywhere USA; the mall and the used bookstore see me on occasion.  Our Governor is acting as an ambassador in another state touting our’s as a tourist destination, The Last Best Place.  And indeed it is, but likely so is the place you spend much of your time or somewhere nearby.

When my children were young we ventured out and took full advantage of dozens of great places for kids from the wide offering where we lived.  We we surprised to hear on chaperoning field trips as they grew, how many of the kids had never been to the destination of the day, whereas it was as familiar as their school playground to my kids.  Children of course, must depend upon adults for this type of exposure, but adults have options they rarely choose.

If you had a friend who lived at some distance coming to visit where would you take them or suggest that they go?  Surely not the grocery store or the dry cleaners.  Even in the smallest of towns there is usually some special place that we forget about in our hurried days.  More often we are surrounded by a wide array of choices but think only about the time it will take, the long lines we may encounter, or the cost of admission.  But what a shot of rejuvenation for the spirit to spend a day as if we were a tourist visiting for the first time.  Plan the day with a guidebook or search online for offerings of interest.  It is likely the search will offer up a surprise, a small treat for the heart and the senses.

Plan your tourist day to eat out even if it is the cafeteria in the museum or the hot dog cart on the street.  If you would buy a souvenir if you were on an extended vacation, purchase some small reminder of your adventure.  As you go about your planned day leave room for a side trip of discovery, some place or thing that presents itself as you play tourist.  Soak it in, whether it is the architecture of the building, the view from the highway, the chatter around you in line.

This little one day experiment can open your eyes to the many places of interest large and small that surround each of us, as well as cause us to slow down and absorb things our eyes sweep over every day without seeing.  It can lift your heart with the thrill of a new discovery, recall a cherished memory from a visit to another place.  Take the time, see your world though a new lens, be a tourist.

One often reads a quote from a volunteer who has been recognized for their many hours of service or some special effort made, that they get far more from the act of volunteering than they give.  These little truisms while sometimes trite become part of our cultural understanding precisely because they are true.

While living a near hermit-like existence, I prefer Thoreau-like however; I discovered the need for more human contact than the grocery checkout allows.  I found my perfect volunteer fit at my small town library.  What better place to use my time and talents than surrounded by books and the people who love them!

The first benefit is the warm greeting received upon each arrival.  One does not generally expect such enthusiasm arriving at work, and unless you own a dog, arriving home.  A volunteer is a valued commodity, not just free labor, but a giver of the labor of love; and is treated as such.  When a day begins dreary and bleak, there is nothing better to revive the spirit than to step into a place where one’s value is appreciated and thankfulness for time given is generously bestowed.

Once one has chosen a good fit, the other people met may be a good fit as well.  Finding others that share common interests and activities is more likely if the place or task that time and talent are applied is reflective of one’s passion.  To be understood is a very human craving and spending time with others sharing a common passion is an opportunity to add another layer of understanding of oneself and to be known in a particular manner.

The activities of the volunteer effort will of course vary as widely as those who offer themselves to the task.  With each act comes an opportunity to find some part of oneself and bring it forth to good use.  Some long-forgotten talent, some deep reserve of patience, some bit of inspiration; all are likely to rise up at the time most needed.  Taking action out of love and choice opens the wellspring of creativity and energy.

In the search for happiness, looking beyond oneself is to find a different sort of joy that is easily incorporated with one’s inner sense of peace.  Choosing an activity for the sheer joy of it, being rewarded in a myriad of ways, and adding another layer of value to oneself; the volunteer does in fact gain far more than they give.

“It is always the false that makes you suffer, the false desires and fears, the false values and ideas, the false relationships between people. Abandon the false and you are free of pain; truth makes you happy, truth liberates.”    ―      Nisargadatta Maharaj

Sincerity in thought and action is a lofty goal.  To be fully happy, an honest life filled with honest relationships remains the only course.  Set aside all façade and pretense to find the truth of ourselves and our relationships.  Staring at the naked truth however, is often painful and distressing; it is not attractive at first glance, nor does it make us comfortable at the onset. This is the extreme version of “happiness doesn’t always make you happy”.  Truth can be damning, haunting, pain-streaked, fearful.  Yet to lie to oneself or to allow others to lie, is to remove all opportunity for good choices and actions that can lead us to our best selves.

Hiding from truth requires a daily dose of rationalization, creating an artificial world to prop up the fiction we are protecting.  The time spent maintaining the artifice steals time from the development of our inner lives.  How does one create a happy healthy inner world when some corner of it is populated by the falsehoods we have come to rely on?

Examining false beliefs, false values, false relationships seems like a rocky road to travel for a little happiness.  The pain of the falsehoods is the greatest roadblock in our path.  Discarding the false in one’s life can be difficult; a process one might choose to avoid,  but  the inherent pain of our own dishonesty causes far more damage.  Once the lie is tossed aside and the truth stands in its place, our choices are far clearer, our burden of protecting false beliefs lifts, and we are free to move about in a world we can trust.