I Didn't Know I Never Knew This

Every now and then, I learn something that makes me wonder, "How come I am just now learning this?"

and also, "what else is out there, that I don't know about?"

Now I certainly don't presume to know everything. There is plenty of information that I choose to exclude from my conscoiusness. I don't read the newspaper, listen to NPR, or watch the news on TV. If there's a major world event going on, someone always tells me about it. I never feel like I'm "missing out" on knowing anything important in that realm.

I'm talking about cool, interesting things that are going on all over the world -- things I would want to participate in or learn more about (assuming I knew about them in the first place).

My most recent better-late-than-never discovery is Geocaching.

When our friends Bill and Lisa were passing through Castle Rock a few weeks ago, they mentioned it, and I had never heard of it. It sounded like fun.

In case you don't know (like I didn't), geocaching is going on all over the world. People who have a GPS hide a "cache" (might be a plastic container, food storage container, an altoids tin, film canister, you name it) with some cool stuff in it (could be anything -- we've seen Pez dispensers, toys for the kiddies, jewelry, coins, etc., plus a log book and pencil) and then they post the coordinates for others to find (with their own GPS).

It's like a worldwide treasure hunt, and our kids are enjoying it as much as we are. Some caches allow you to take an item, and leave an item in its place. Others are just for viewing.

The surprising part to me is that this has been going on for SEVEN YEARS.

Seven Years! That is amazing to me, that this has been going on for seven years, and I had no clue. And there are a TON of caches hidden right here in my little town of Castle Rock, population 35,000.

What ELSE don't I know about?

We hid our first cache this week, called "OnTheRoadAgain." It seemed rather fitting, considering how much we travel. Andy hid the cache one evening, it was approved by the local admin within hours, and by early the next AM, someone had already discovered it. By the end of that day, numerous other people had found it, and some left foreign coins and other cool stuff.

I love that it's a give-and-take kind of thing, that people of all ages, backgrounds and occupations can participate. I love that it gets us outdoors as a family. I love the anticipation of the hunt, and the commitment to find the cache (sometimes it's hidden quite well, and hard to find, even with coordinates that may only be accurate within 15 feet).

I just love the whole thing.

And I happen to think we found out about this hobby at THIS time becaues the timing was right for us.

But that goes back to what I'm always talking about: Inspired Action.

Here's your QoD:

When you receive a gentle nudge to take action, are you more likely to take action right away, or do you tend to procrastinate or talk yourself out of it? What would happen if you began taking action as soon as you were inspired?

Go for it!