When in Lisbon, Murakami.
Stay off the beaten path, for that’s where the magic is.
I'm in Lisbon for the holidays, visiting family. Though I always bring waaay too many books, overestimating how much time I’ll have for pleasure reading, I also find myself crawling through my favorite bookshops in search of my next Murakami book.
I discovered Haruki Murakami’s books here for the first time, and each time we come I’ve bought and read at least one of them.
Murakami is off the beaten path for me. I’ve heard it called “magical realism”, and I’m typically more of a hard scifi or non-fiction fan.
And, Lisbon is also off the beaten path for me, though I visit it twice a year. With it’s sprawling spires, colorful buildings, and adorable (and practical!) cobblestones, it’s visually different from where I live. More importantly, it’s culturally different. As Paul Simon sang, it’s a place where I don’t speak the language, I hold no currency. I am a foreign man, here, out of place.
And that gives me new perspectives, new ideas, and new possibilities.
Murakami’s books are frequently set in the boring lives of boring people where extrordinary, magical things happen. They are woken from their everyday existance with the realization that things are not what they seem, and the world is not what they thought it was, and there is something vital to be done. Something never before seen which now calls them.
If you’re a leader of any kind, you’ll benefit from a change of scenery, even if only temporarily. Change your company, your team, your role - or even just change your schedule. Change the people you interact with. Find ways to become a “foreign man”, even if only for an hour.
As you do, be alert. Keep your eyes open, and a pen handy.
Things are not what they seemed, and the world is not how you thought it was. Don’t let the scare you, let it expand you.
Stay off the beaten path, for that’s where the magic is.
Stay well, friends.
-m