The Place Next Door

Last weekend I spent a couple of days visiting my sister and brother-in-law in San Francisco. I love visiting the city for lots of different reasons. This trip I decided to go to Grace Cathedral to walk the labyrinths (stay tuned for a blog post on this soon!). I wasn't actually all that interested in the cathedral itself - for me, the draw was the labyrinths.

Boy, was I in for a surprise. As I walked through the beautiful, expansive, impressive cathedral, I was in awe.I always look for experiences like this in the US but don't often find them. I love walking into a church or cathedral and feeling the history, feeling that wonder of how it was built - how much work & planning & artistry went into it. This is what I felt as I walked through Grace Cathedral.

And my awe was also caused by the fact that I lived in the City for 3 years and never visited the Cathedral. It wasn't even that I lived far from it. Actually, my bus and walking routes wereon the very street of the Cathedral. I just never thought to walk in.

Why is it that when things are so close, we often miss them? We're often much more curious about those things that are further away - in another neighborhood, city, state or even country. THAT's what we want to explore. And often there are PLENTY of gems right around the corner from us.

So this week, I invite you to bring that curiosity closer to home. What might you explore that's right next door - a new route, a different street, anew cafe or restaurant or building? Is there something you walk or drive by each day, but have never REALLY seen or looked at? Explore that thing next door this week - who KNOWS what you might discover?