WHERE WILL YOUR WALK TAKE YOU TODAY?
“The moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.”
Henry David Thoreau
In my experience, creative revelations are often triggered when walking, especially in nature – where nothing is a distraction, yet EVERYTHING is a distraction. I try and be ‘present in the moment’ on my daily walks, walking mindfully and bringing awareness to the sounds of my footsteps, the bird song and the panting dogs. But often my mind will unwittingly whirr into another gear entirely, full of ‘what if’ and ‘how about’ and by the time I’m home I have to grab pen and notebook to download everything that’s come to me, before I forget!
A walk means time and space for processing information, making decisions, overcoming blocks, freeing up ideas, receiving downloads, seeking new perspectives or much-needed clarity, a means of cleansing the mind.
Walking is a combination of doing and not doing; we can easily switch into autopilot and let our legs do the work, leaving our minds free to wander. It’s the activity that most closely resembles the state of flow that I achieve in painting; a wordless, timeless state that clears the head and allows me to move forward without active over-thought and planning.
Mind and body, and nature… for me connection to these is the golden triad. Space away from the intensity and proximity of the studio and its callings.
The heart pumping faster, sending blood and oxygen not just to the brain but the whole body. The senses triggered by the smells and sounds of the woodland, moorland or clifftop. This is when I’m at my happiest.
It’s not just me- the famous and productive have been keen walkers for all of history; from Aristotle to Einstein. Steve Jobs was known for his walking meetings. Mark Zuckerberg apparently works this way too. A 2014 Stanford study found that it’s not the environment that’s important to boosting memory, attention and creativity, but the act of walking. A treadmill works just as well. Compared with sitting, walking boosts creative output by 60%! So next time you’re stuck, you know what to do!
What helps boost your creativity?
Where will your walk take you today?
