May 1: My Dad was an Accountant with many of the clichéd characteristics attributed to that profession. He was conservative in his life and cautious with his money and well aware of risk, in all its’ forms. Still, there were times when I could tell that he knew that it was appropriate – perhaps even important – to spend more than he might normally on something that was a special or riskier opportunity. At times like these, he would often say “Why not ?” in a particular way, always with the “why” part about an octave higher than the “not”. It was obviously a rhetorical question.
For most of my life, like Father like Son, my reflexive response to new or unusual opportunities has been negative, especially if it involved what I considered to be frivolous or unwarranted expense. Even when I fell out of character and bought the BMW and Alfa Romeo convertibles, or the Moto Guzzi, they were sold when they felt like frivolous extravagances that I could no longer justify. The proceeds were usually used to pay down debt.
While this was clearly a product of the way I was raised, by a man I loved dearly and respected beyond words, there were times when I felt I was denying myself useful things and meaningful experiences for no particular reason other than “I don’t do that sort of thing”. My descent into mindless self-centred navel-gazing around my forthcoming trip has brought many of those situations to light.
Booking a hotel in a waterfront hotel in Lausanne for the night of my birthday, I’m offered a room with a view of the City, or a room with a view of the lake and the French Alps. Of course, the room with the spectacular view is 10 Euro more expensive, and I would usually opt for the view of the parking lot, knowing that I could put the 10 Euro toward the meal or gas for the bike. But now I frequently hear Dad in the background: “Why not ?” Why would I deliberately choose a hotel on the lake, and not want the view ? What do I gain by saying no and having a less memorable experience ? What am I waiting for ?
So more often than ever before, I am trying to make my reflexive answer “Yes. Why not ? Let’s do that.” It doesn’t only apply to big, extravagant decisions involving cars or money; often the small decisions are as important. Many of my most memorable moments on the last trip happened because I simply decided to stop and look at something I thought might be interesting. Mostly, I was right. It’s an attitude I’ve tried to ingrain in my approach to new opportunities, even though I am the last in a long line of book-keepers.