Get new perspectives from the comfort of your favourite chair.
Photo by Lanju Fotografie on Unsplash
This blog could also be entitled 'get out of your bubble' - and could be applied in a multitude of ways.
If we've learned anything from the last few years, it's that many of us live in a bubble.
Floating through life, our nostrils filled with the sweet smell of washing up liquid as we, er...
No. Not that. But you know what I'm talking about.
"Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible."
Frank Zappa
In your bubble, nobody challenges you. Nobody disagrees with you.
We know everything. We’re right about everything.
Kind of in a trance, no longer really thinking things through.
Mind you, the positive way of looking at it would be to say that we're very much in tune with everything that's happening around us.
Nah, scratch that. We live in a bubble.
Okay, this is meant to be a blog, not a soapbox. There's a connection to creativity here.
It's human nature to prefer living within parameters we feel comfortable with. We gravitate toward the familiar. Some people take the leap and switch between 'bubbles' - sometimes frequently. Maybe they're more comfortable with being uncomfortable as they try to broaden their world view.
Yet it's an inescapable fact that gaining wider experience feeds the mind. And further, fresh input equals more stuff in the tank to draw from as we seek to be more creative.
It can be a pain in the arse trying to get a fresh perspective though. Especially when your own guilt trip about making more effort butts up against reality. Like that one you may have heard of - about taking a different route to work each day, to shake things up. That's all well and good when you've got the luxury of time, or it's not pissing with rain.
But of course, there's a perfect place where you can immerse yourself in new scenarios, visit different places, and view things from a different standpoint. All without getting rained on.
The internet, duh.
Not the predictable bits. That's not news. I'm talking about literally going to another place you've never been, without leaving the place you're in.
If you're in Manchester, listen online to a local radio station in Cornwall. If you live in London, read the web edition of a Scottish newspaper.
My absolute favourite though is going on Google Streetview and taking a look around a place that you've never been to, navigating the streets. You could:
Or meet some kangaroos in Perth, Australia (okay, sculptures of kangaroos)
Or check out the coastal views in Reykjavik, Iceland.
And so on...
You can literally go on a city break without changing out of your pyjamas. Seeing what it's like to live in that alternative universe will stimulate your brain to think a little bit differently.
Uncharted worlds are just places we haven't been yet - or our minds have not yet taken us. The experience of going there offers the promise of a host of new ideas.
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