At times, creativity can be elusive. At best, we ride the wave of euphoria that comes with inspiration, not fully understanding how we’ve managed to harness it.
The Creative Journey
Now that I’ve lived more than five decades, I’ve had a chance to observe and even analyze my own creative process. I had a wild imagination as a child, enjoying art, music and writing from my earliest memories. Talent was evident early on—and during my childhood it was easy to find joy in the act of creation with little self-editing or inhibition. I had no expectations or goals attached to the act. It was simply creative play.
Somewhere over the next decade of my life, the creative process became a little more complicated. Once it became associated with a grade, or a contest, or the decision to make a living out of it—the joyful aspects became more fleeting, and with it, the wild abandon of inspiration.
“The unspoken factor is love. The reason I can work so hard at my writing is that it’s not work for me.”
– John Irving
The Pitfalls of Productivity
Over the years as a graphic designer and writer, deadlines entered the process. While many of us claim that we work well—possibly even better—under pressure, studies have found that despite those beliefs, that theory may be faulty. We can learn to push ourselves for results, but may find ourselves in a creative rut in the process. A high level of hurried output can’t be sustained for long without consequence.
Ambition, multi-tasking, frequent screen-time all add to the frantic quality of modern daily life. We seldom quiet our minds, we’re rarely still and this can cause us to lose touch with that sweet spot of creative abandon. We find our work stifled by formulaic assignments, commissioned work,
The Influence of Nature
When we reconnect with nature, it’s almost as if we’re returning to our very essence—the time before childhood even—as if reverting to the very dust we emerged from, to a primal state of simply … being. Under the influence of natural surroundings we’re stimulated in a completely different way.
During our school years, we’re conditioned to follow a schedule, instructed to focus on a preplanned task, told not to daydream—but often it’s that very act of allowing our minds to wander that brings the greatest
Immersing ourselves in nature—as we do when we spend several days camping—brings an even more dramatic effect.
“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity”
― John Muir, Our National Parks
Tapping into Nature’s Inspiration
- Walk or sit in silence in a natural setting.
- Quiet your mind, emptying it of distraction and clutter.
- Be present in the moment, aware of the beauty of the scenery, attuned to your senses.
- If possible, plant your bare feet on the ground.
- Once your mind is quiet and you feel in tune with your surroundings, then you can open a journal or sketchbook, but don’t force it. Approach it playfully, as a child.
Most of us won’t have to go too far to find a green space. Even in the city, there are parks or even rooftop gardens to escape to. I am thankful for my country home and RV camping lifestyle. When home, I can quickly escape to my backyard hammock. When the trees are fully leaved in the late spring and summer, I am not even aware of neighbors.
“It is the marriage of the soul with nature that makes the intellect fruitful, and gives birth to imagination.”
– Henry David Thoreau
I love to dangle in a hammock. My body just relaxes into it. With the rustle of leaves in the breeze, the enthusiastic chirping of birds, dappled sunlight on fresh greens of new growth, the tension in my body and the busyness of my mind slowly melts away. After a time of stillness, my imagination begins to soar.
Who could object to such an enjoyable solution? Relaxing in a hammock, sitting on a bench in a botanical garden, pausing to take in a beautiful scene while hiking, lying on a blanket at the beach … yes, please.
When You Can’t Get Outside
Even when you can’t spend time outside, there are ways to bring some benefits of nature indoors:
- surround yourself with scenic nature photos
- beautiful plants (I love orchids and bonsai trees)
- nature sounds
- nature scents diffuser (try essential oils of Black Spruce, Douglas Fir, Sandalwood, Pine, Cypress, Cedarwood, Juniper Leaf and more.)
Strange, but true. While it’s not a long-term replacement for getting outside, studies show that even recreating a natural environment indoors, has a beneficial effect.
Positive Thinking Boosts Creativity
It’s almost impossible to hold onto negative thoughts when surrounded by the beauty of nature. Happiness and positivity also seem to have links to creativity (and may explain why Bob Ross always painted happy little trees).
In a study at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, researchers documented the feelings and actions of their participants. Those who reported feeling happy and active were much more likely to be involved in doing something creative — engaged in activities such as writing, music or art. These findings support the theory that creativity is both a cause and effect of a positive mindset. We’re creative when we’re happy—and happy when we’re creative.
Still, studies suggest that creativity is often an unconscious process. Ideas can come to us in dreams. We tap into some of our best ideas outside our conscious awareness or control.
This must be why we often choose to “sleep on it” before making a decision. It is possible to overthink something. Once we let go of the conscious struggle and set a project aside, an incubation process kicks in and often, when we least expect it — Eureka!
Awkward Visits from the Muse
Why is it that we seem to get creative ideas when we’re in the shower, or just as we’re falling asleep? Sometimes it seems like a cruel trick of the brain—dangling that carrot when we are least prepared to act on it, or record it.
I’ve made a habit of keeping a notebook and pen on my nightstand, and when I’m immersed in a writing project and my mind is mulling it on a back burner, ideas seem to strike just as I’ve let go of all my cares and concerns—drifting off to sleep or standing under a stream of hot water. As if when I’m at my most vulnerable, my mind is most open to inspiration.
Just as when we’re in nature, we’ve allowed our minds to go still … receptive. We are relaxed, unengaged. And that is when inspiration seems to hit.
Stages of the Creative Process
According to psychologist, Graham Wallas in his book The Art of Thought, there are four stages to the creative process: preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification.
- Preparation – gathering information, facts and materials
- Incubation – processing of ideas (this is where the stillness comes in!)
- Illumination – making connections between ideas, the aha moment
- Verification – fine-tuning ideas
Allowing for an incubation period can enhance our creative performance. We need to set our ideas aside for a time. Mind-wandering and sleep are unintentional incubation periods.
In The Art of Thought, Wallas quotes physicist Hermann von Helmholtz’s observation of his own creative process: “Happy ideas come unexpectedly without effort, like an inspiration. So far as I am concerned, they have never come to me when my mind was fatigued, or when I was at my working table … They came particularly readily during the slow ascent of wooded hills on a sunny day.”
I interpret this in the way that it compares to my own process. I know that for me, relaxation and reconnection with nature are both important. An overtired brain rarely produces an inspiring thought, but when we allow our minds to drift, taking conscious thought out of the equation—we are actually enhancing the creative process.
When we face a creative challenge, the best thing we can do is unplug, unwind and just be still. It’s almost counter-intuitive, but by setting the project aside to relax, we’re actually engaged in the creative process.
So there. If you didn’t already have enough excuses for relaxing and reconnecting with nature, consider it an investment in your creative prowess. Now go and plan your next inspiring camping trip!
References
Burkus, David. The Creative Benefits of Boredom, Harvard Business Review, 9 September 2014. https://hbr.org/2014/09/the-creative-benefits-of-boredom
The Latest Research on Creativity and the Arts, American Psychological Association, June 2014. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/06/arts-creativity
Ritter, Simone M. Creativity—the Unconscious Foundations of the Incubation Period, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 11 April 2014. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3990058
Wallas, Graham. The Art of Thought. Harcourt Brace, 1926.
Lynch, Brendan. Researchers Find Time in Wild Boosts Creativity, Insight and Problem Solving, The University of Kansas, 23 April 2012. http://archive.news.ku.edu/2012/april/23/outdoors.shtml
Speert, Ellen. Eco-Art Therapy: Deepening Connections with the Natural World, American Art Therapy Association, 27 October 2016. https://arttherapy.org/eco-art-therapy-deepening-connections-natural-world
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