This weekend, my partner and I took the Airstream out. We went to our favorite park near Pescadero, overlooking the ocean, and spent both days doing whatever we wanted to do next. No plans, no "shoulds," no news. Just empty time, which we filled with adventures in Nature.
It was exactly what I needed. And something magical came out of this, which I'll tell you about in a minute.
A remote surfer's beach we found off the beaten path.
Years ago, my writing teacher Adele gave us an assignment to feed our creativity: spend an entire day being "unproductive"—without screens of any kind. I decided to drive to the beach. For the first hour or so, my noisy thoughts drove me crazy. Eventually, though, I settled into it, and I found some peace.
That was before social media and smart phones took over our lives. Today, I can hardly take ten minutes away from screens. I do much of my work on my computer. I have the television on in the background. When I need a break from work, I play games on my iPhone. Or I read the news—a surefire way to activate my anxiety. I often work late on my laptop, answering emails, finishing tasks, trying to shorten my endless to-do list.
A perfect abstract painting made out of seawater eroding rocks.
So these weekends away are good medicine. They don't just soothe my brain and soul—they feed my creativity. The best ideas come when I'm empty inside, content and curious at the same time.
Someone named Dee Hock once said, "Make an empty space in any corner of your mind, and creativity will instantly fill it."
Now here's the magical part. As I was writing this, I decided to do a random search for quotes about creativity. I came across that gem above, but I didn't know who the heck Dee Hock was. Turns out, he created Visa, of all things—but he left the corporate world to live and work on a ranch for ten years so he could think, meditate, and create.
Guess where the ranch was? Pescadero, California. Right near where we went camping this weekend. :)
Art Heals
I'm a huge fan of Pamela Zagarinski's dream-like illustrations. This one reminded me of Moby Dick, but after the Ahab's ship finally sank!
Zagarinski's card company is called Sacred Bee, and check out this mission statement: "Sacredbee chooses words to encourage, promote peace, and love for all people. We believe in caring about each other, future generations, and our incredible, diverse planet, including all of its creatures: feathered, furred, finned, winged, four-legged, and two."
