Why did I leave Cookie behind today?

Every Sunday, at some point as we are getting ready to head out for our weekend walk, Cookie gets wind of the plans. She starts doggie talking. A series of high pitched whines and the occasional squeal of delight escape her. 

This Sunday was different. We were heading to Sunder Nursery, (which we thought did not allow dogs) for a change of scenery. As it turns out we could have taken her as they do in fact allow our furry friends.. 

Deepa said that cookie had an incredulous "How could you?" look in her eyes when we left the house and shut the door in her face. But I digress. The thought I want to explore is why we chose to leave Cookie behind. 

As I sat thinking about the week that went by, lots of exciting things happened, but this choice we made, to leave our lovely doggie at home, stood out. We love her dearly. We love going for walks with her. And yet we chose to leave her behind. 

Why ? What prompted me to make this choice? I am not sure, but I think it’s the need for newness. New adventures. New paths to explore. New experiences. The feeling that the road less travelled has something more to offer, than the well-trodden path. 

I was willing to give up the joy of being with cookie to enjoy a slightly different experience from the routine. On one hand, I love the familiar and the comfortable feel of the regular Sunday haunts we explore. I know the pathways and the twists and turns of the lovely Sanjay Van that has become our weekly oasis of green. But every once in a while I still want some newness. 

In the work context, I believe finding new things to do in the same environment can be a wonderful way to feed this need for freshness. This is why job rotation, taking on stretch goals, grabbing the chance to travel and changing your routine are all small but meaningful ways to stay with the familiar and yet get a dose of newness in the corporate world. In fact organisations often find ways to give their top talent new challenges and push them out of their comfort zones. This way the best and brightest get to keep exploring within a walled garden. I believe we all get to the point where we want to go and explore a new garden now and then. Finding a way to do that within the geography of your own organisation is a great way to grow from within.

The other way to find freshness in the familiar, is by revisiting the same place with new people. For example, I enjoy the familiar when I share it with family members who come and visit us from out of town. The old becomes new. Sharing the same paths helps me experience it afresh. We have revisited some of our usual haunts with family when they visited Delhi and enjoyed the places with fresh eyes. Newness does not need to be about new places. Newness is also about a fresh experience. 

There is a price to pay for this search for newness too. I felt guilty for not taking her.  I kept thinking of how much cookie would have enjoyed the morning. I wondered if she would be angry with us. Luckily, she is a forgiving four legged friend with a big heart. She greeted me with love and her usual overjoyed reaction on my return. Not a word or reproach. No sulking. No punishing me for leaving her behind as I went in search of newness. Just lots of tail wagging and wet licks. If only we could all learn to be a more like them, the world would be a better place.