Writing about the same topic again and again can feel like approaching a house and always going in through the front door. Find a new entry point. Knock on the screened-in back door. Look for an open window. Climb the trellis to the attic. Start there.
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If you have to go to the same door, try knocking on it differently. Tap out a message in Morse code. Use the doorbell instead of the knocker or vice versa. Click your heels three times. Try the big, bad wolf’s tactics. You might not blow down the house, but you’ll surely encounter a different reaction than one viewed previously.
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Examine the house piece by piece. Look at the windows. Consider the door and its frame. Run your fingers across its gouges, the pattern left by an unattended Christmas wreath. Study the scuff marks of shoes, the grime from someone’s small fingers.
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Perhaps you need to come with a gift. Get the topic to soften a bit by bringing it a homemade pie. Pretend it’s a new neighbor. You don’t know anything about this person, but you hope she and her husband like blueberries, maybe have a need for a kitten.
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Then again, maybe you need to alter the lighting. See what happens when you approach at daybreak, the middle of the afternoon, the evening. How does the light affect what you notice, shift what you want to call attention to?
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You have other options. If the house is yours, give it a fresh coat of paint. It’s still the same topic, but revitalizing it with some color can do the trick. If it isn’t, maybe forking the yard will give you new insights. A nicer option: a May Day basket.
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Resist the easy path. Find a new route to the house. Following the same path is like pulling a warm, familiar blanket around yourself. You notice little, if anything, when you’re snuggled into your cocoon.
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Take the same path with someone else. Let them call attention to things. Don’t be in a hurry; linger wherever this person or animal lingers. Smell the air. Crunch through the leaves. Step on all the cracks in the sidewalk. Hop and jump along the neighborhood kids’ game of hopscotch.
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You may come to the same house again and again, but you can find something new. The house isn’t exhausted. It’s still a treasure trove. You just have to find a new entry point into it.
Image: Thomas Leth-Olsen (Creative Commons)