By Sarah Rusthoven, Creative Content Producer
"Enjoy the best kept secret around -- the ordinary, everyday landscape that rewards any explorer, that touches any explorer with magic."- John R. Stilgoe
Check out Stilgoe’s book that inspired this blogpost.
"Be present!" "Enjoy the moment" "Live in the now!" We've heard all the catchphrases, but being present is easier said than done I think. It's a skill I have been working on my whole life and have yet to master, and is important as a creative worker as a way to find inspiration.
This is the key to finding inspiration even when you may be going through a creative burnout. All you have to do is look around!
In the times I seem to conquer the present moment, I experience a state of bliss, and I can open my mind to curiosity, inquiry and joy. Who knew we could learn so much just from observing what's right in front of us and letting those observations connect the dots between former notions already living in our brains?
Every man-made commodity our eyes take in every second has a story behind it; it had a conceptualization, it had a designer, it had a builder. And who are we to go around letting this history slip away from the forefront of our minimal observational capacity.
We have forgotten how to observe, and just how much we can learn from being curious about what we observe.
As children, we love to ask "why," "why, "why?" Where did that go? No wonder the first few years of our life, our brains double in size, because that is the one time in life we let ourselves be naturally curious. We do not judge not knowing, we welcome it in like the opportune nourishment it is.
I personally fall victim to an incessantly busy lifestyle, and am currently looking for some balance to help ward off burn-out. Maybe finding comfort in the world around me is the way to go. There are secrets and stories and passions in every corner of a room.
You can look at anything and find something in it to inspire a train of thought so peaceful and positive until you're thinking like a child again.
I now practice being more observant and letting the world around me inspire me and after making this shift, I encourage everyone to try this as well.
Recently, as a designer during the pandemic, burnout arises in me now more than ever and I am grasping for ways to keep me creating.
So much thought can come just from being aware of what’s already there. Don’t overlook the world around you. Let it bring you joy and evoke your curiosity and thought.
Looking for more tips for living in the moment? Check out this blogpost from Psychology Today.