June 4, 2012

Thinking Places

Last week my family and I got away for a few days together. We scampered all around Northern California, experiencing new towns and possibly discovering every possible way to become carsick on winding back roads. However, it was refreshing to get some quality time together and a change of scenery. A bit of vacation also proved good for my writing.

One afternoon my family sat on the shores of a jade-green lake (interestingly named "Trinity Lake") and sat in silence, each member absorbed in a different creative project. I took the time to soak in the silence, slowing down after nearly a month of nonstop work (and almost no time for my novel). I scribbled out a poem, a first response to the beautiful place and the quiet moment of being still and noticing. It felt like a drink of cold Gatorade after a hard run or hike.


One of our stops was at the charming Blackberry Inn in the coastal town of Mendocino. Caressed by the foggy, temperate marine layer, lush with dozens of varieties of colorful flowers, and deliciously out of range of cell phone service, it was the perfect place to stop and rest and write. Our adorable little room looked like a life-sized dollhouse, complete with a sunny window and a pair of wing-back chairs.



In my home office, the writing time I eke out is often interrupted by the phone ringing, the dryer beeping, new e-mails, the front door. In this quiet room in Mendocino, I was cut off from those interruptions. Sure, there were all my usual mental distractions (read a book! what do I need to do tomorrow? oh look, a seagull!), but in a one-room enclosure with almost no technology, I found it easier to center down and blurt out eleven pages of new novel material, written longhand in a pink journal. It helped to sit at this old-fashioned wooden desk under a painting of a thatch-roofed English cottage. I felt a bit like Jane Austen or one of the Bronte sisters.



What I realized most was that my normal life is full of multitasking. It's a skill that makes getting multiple mindless things done at the same time possible, but it really kills deep, original thinking. Writing is one way we mortals imitate our Father God, who breathed a world into being ex nihilo, out of nothing. That takes focus. When my attention is on fifty different things, it's hard to get below surface-level maintenance writing and think of anything new


Creative thought, like a relationship with God, requires some periods of silence, solitude, and centering. (Hot tea, fuzzy socks, and a beautiful view don't hurt either.) Sometimes it's important to retreat from routine to create a nurturing environment where creativity can grow. For me, it was a time of peace and releasing the story within. It left me refreshed and a little readier to return to the daily world of multitasking.

Does the world of multitasking ever leave you in need of a retreat? Where do you go to refresh your creative side?

6 comments:

  1. The photos in your post are breathtaking and I can see why this was the perfect place to unleash your creativity!

    Multi-tasking is so not one of my favorite words or ways of being. I wore it out in 20+ yrs in the workplace and laid it to rest when I left.

    Getting in touch with my creative side never seems to happen unless I take it outdoors. It can be as simple as sitting on the porch in the presence of the hummingbirds and the shadow of the mountain, but my creative side definitely needs to breath fresh air.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like that you removed multitasking from your vocabulary when you stepped out of the workplace. It's one of those prevalent, yet sometimes toxic concepts that characterizes America's mania for efficiency.

      And I wholly agree- the outdoors does something important for reflection and creativity. Hiking is the best!

      Delete
  2. What a wonderful retreat Alina! Yes, we do need to take the time gather our thoughts and create! This was very incouraging! Thank you! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad it encouraged you, Karen :) I definitely enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. Remember when trips like that were to look at colleges? This sounds much better! Glad you got time to relax and refocus your creativity. =)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh heavens; glad I'm not doing THAT anymore! Though life after college comes with different pressures, I'm certainly glad to be free of academia's hamster wheel...

      Delete