Use Adventure to Replenish Your Creative Spirit

As this blog post goes live, I am out with my fam on our first vacation in four years.

Rosie from the past is excited to write to you because it's been so long since I've traveled--really traveled--out of the state. It's a rare occurrence and being a creature of habit the change of scenery is overwhelming.

In the best way ever.

I wanted to talk to you today about using travel or adventure to replenish your creativity. Kind of like an artist date, travel can get you out of your head and encourage a spirit of curiosity.

But when most think of going on an adventure, they think of going someplace far away--out of the state or even out of the country. The idea of long road trips or flights with crying babies may scream Travel to some (including myself at one point) but... I realized something.

Adventure doesn't have to take you halfway across the world. You can begin exploring right where you stand.

There was a period in my life when I wanted to be anywhere but where I was. I longed for different experiences, different people, different scenery. Nothing was good enough for me. I didn't stop long enough to look around and enjoy the beauty that sat at my feet.

Since the beginning of summer, I've taken the time to slow down and look at my corner of the world. I happen to live in a place where if you take one step forward it's the city, and two steps back it's the country. There are cute little parks sporadically tucked away. Tire swings and metal pipes that create music when you run a rod across them. It gets even better when you throw good people and a jar of Nutella into the mix.

Travel invokes this sense that we have to completely remove ourselves from what we know. But I think we can do that even within our own city or zip code. You can find something to spark awe and wonder in your heart, and the best part is you don't have to move very far from home.

I encourage you to take the time to go on an adventure of your own. Travel, even if it is across town to visit a new coffee shop, or swing in a new park. If you have the chance to move far away from what you know, do that too. Just get out there, friend.

How can you use adventure to replenish your creative spirit?

• Use your senses to tap into your experience of the world. Note what you smell, taste, and the textures you touch. Pay attention to noises and always keep your eyes open.
• When you are weary, take a walk around your neighborhood. Stop to pick up a stick and tap it along the trees. Notice the mushrooms, fallen leaves, and spider webs. This time can be your Thinking time or your Stop Thinking time.
• Note new things that you see. Recently I went to a park where they made a bench to look like it was made from giant coloring pencils. Snap a picture. Write about it in a journal.
• Remember to bring a sense of child-like wonder into your adventures.
• Slow down long enough to enjoy the experience, so that you're not rushing through something and regret it later. Develop memories.
• Play in your environment.
• Use your imagination: who would trample through this forest?
• Ask yourself: How can I represent what I felt, saw, and did through my creative work?

Do not search for inspiration. Let it find you.

What do you think?

How will you use travel to replenish your creativity?