Stoke Your Creative Fire: Change the Scenery

As an artist and intuitive, I am a bit of an inspiration junkie. I love that moment when you get the spark of an idea that opens a door to all kinds of possibility. It’s energetic fuel for your creative fire and if you take action, things start to happen.

The creative process is a journey, however, and this is just a part of that path. I feel it most strongly at the beginning of a project and can joyfully follow it to a certain point where inevitably I feel stuck. And I’ve noticed this happens both on and off the canvas.

It happens when I start a new yoga class or diet. It happens when I tackle projects for my business. It happens when I take new classes and start learning something new. There comes a point where that initial burst of creative energy starts to taper off and in order to keep moving forward I need to feed that little spark so it can become a steady-burning fire.

This is where I’ve found that the best thing to do is KEEP GOING… (and trust me, it’s not always the thing I want to do.) ACTION, even if it’s little micro steps that seem insignificant on their own are essential at this stage.

But sometimes we get really stuck and that’s when we need what I think of as a “Pattern Disrupt”. There are lots of ways to do this and get out of ruts, but the BEST way is to change the scenery.

You can change the scenery in really accessible ways by simply taking a different walk to work, going window shopping or trying out pretty much anything new and different.

Sometimes though… we need a big change and traveling to a new place has never failed to re-energize me when I’m feeling creatively droopy. Whether you go on a full-out vacation or simply on a day trip off the beaten path… the fresh and different sights, sounds, tastes and energy of a new place can snap you right out of your creative doldrums and stoke your inner creative fire.

I recently took a weekend trip to Montréal, Canada with my daughter for just this reason. It was a relatively short drive away. It was a different country, and it was a place I had never been… so it definitely qualified as a perfect opportunity to change the scenery.

We had a great and sometimes not all that comfortable adventure that included getting lost in a maze of tunnels and highways around the city center when our GPS failed, eating some amazing food (definitely a city to go for that!), and stepping out of the very chilly 20 degree spring weather into the balmy, green of the Montréal Botanical Gardens. It was a quick trip, but we got to enjoy the sounds of people speaking French, several amazing lattés, and the vibration of this warm and friendly city.

We returned home exhausted, and then… I noticed after a good night’s sleep in my own bed, there it was: my inspiration! It was back. My energy had returned and my head was full of bright ideas.

When you need to stoke your creative fire, find a way to change the scenery. It may take a few days for the effects to sink in and sometimes it’s instantaneous… but it’s a great way to rediscover your inspiration.