The only thing I want you to do today is to go for a walk.
Take a camera, take your phone. It doesn’t matter which, just so long as you have something that you can take a picture with.
I want you to pay attention to the things around you. What catches your eye? What insists you pay attention to it? Take a picture of it. If there’s more than one, take a picture of them.
In The Artist’s Way and The Right to Write, Julia Cameron talks about going on walks often. She says a creative’s work is called a body of work for a reason. She encourages us to get out and walk.
Stairs at Lake Carlton dam at Robber’s Cave State Park
I need to get out and walk more. I know it. My weight proves it to me on a daily basis. Lately, the way my jeans fit proves it to me even more.
If I don’t get out enough, my mood takes a direct hit. The best way to be sure I get out more is to incorporate nature walks into my exercise regimen. (I have to laugh. At this point, I don’t really have an exercise regimen, though I keep planning on it. Does that count?)
When you read about writers, artists, poets, composers, etc., you see almost all of them mention regular walks. Some of them are short, just for exercise, but others are long, intended for musing and working through problems posed by their work.
In The Right to Write, Julia Cameron mentions going for walks on a frequent basis. She has said there is a reason our compiled progress is called a body of work. It lives inside of us, takes up residence inside our body. It requires movement, so we must move.
For some reason, I tend to forget that part, though.
All of the creatives you see talking about walking never say they walk inside, on a track. It’s all outside, to get the benefit of nature. There we can witness creativity in its most natural form. I know the birds and wildlife and trees and flowers don’t communicate directly with us and would not call it creativity if they could. That’s what it is, though. They’re creating life.
I think we could all learn something from that. I know I could.
(On a side note, this is post #100 for this blog!)
