Let Nature Map Your Course

If there is one good thing that can come out of a volcanic ash cloud -- the one from Iceland that is spewing all over the fly space around Great Britain and Europe, maybe it's to teach us to re-evaluate why we're always in a hurry to get somewhere -- at least when we don't have to be.

When I was a kid, my dad used to rent a car for a couple of weeks and we'd drive from Edmonton to Vancouver every summer. But the drive was not so much about reaching Vernon to visit Grandma or arriving in Vancouver to spend time with the cousins. It was about the drive itself.

The cooler was full of refreshments for all the stops we'd make along the way. Dad had a few favorite sites he'd go to annually, but he'd also take an unknown turn, just for the adventure.

He'd stop at the same "crick" once we entered the mountains, and he'd take off his shoes and socks and soak his feet in the ice cold stream. I'm certain he tried to go up every dead-end runaway trail between Banff and Vancouver, just to see what the view was like. We usually motel-ed it before reaching Vernon, instead of driving straight through. To Dad, it was more important to stop and admire the ducks on a slew pond between Edmonton and Calgary, than beat the clock.

When is the last time you stopped to breathe, slow down, and just soak in life -- not looking at your watch?

I've come to the conclusion that this good practice for encouraging the creative juices to flow. Daydreaming and "vegging" helps your mind relax and for thoughts to come in -- thoughts about the creative process. I don't feel guilty anymore when I take a break to have a coffee on the deck, throw in a load of laundry, or even run to the store to browse or shop. It's those moments that seem to ignite my best ideas.