A while back I wrote about writers block and how it can surreptitiously hit at any time, knocking you off your creative feet and sucking the wind out of your sails. I mentioned how for me, heading to the ocean seemed to ease the drought, and how for others, trying to retreat to your own little mecca could help you find inspiration and fill that creative void.
All this still stands but what happens when creativity is halted by something more than writers block? What if it’s halted by a longing or a wanton desire for something else? Something more than what you may already have?
We’ve all seen those daft inspirational quotes floating around the web, the ones that usually come with a ‘Spiritualist’ or ‘Buddhist’ warning attached to them, even though they probably haven’t ever been uttered by a Buddhist or a Spiritualist (no offence to any Spiritualists or Buddhists out there, I like your work, keep it up); the ones that say things like “be grateful for what you have”, “where you’re at is a gift, embrace the present”, or “don’t think you need more, you already have enough”…blah blah blah. These are the quotes that are effectively telling us to stop trying, to stop striving for more. But what if what we have is not enough? How is striving for more or wanting to better yourself a bad thing?
Surely, striving for something, wanting to hit goals, wanting to push forward and achieve things can only enhance creativity? No? Well, this is the conundrum I find myself facing on a daily basis – I do have enough but somehow I want, crave and need much more. I am continuously striving to travel and escape: to travel to new places; to get out of the humdrum of habitual life, to escape routine. I admit, I have itchy feet. It’s not always been this way but recently the soles of my worn out shoes have been burning with a desire to run, to wander, and to be free.
Achieving this liberation is far from simple though and the frustration I feel at being shackled to one place sometimes blocks my creative passages and I find my writing suffering as I stagnate in the same hole I tried to escape from over a year ago.
But while the likes of South East Asia, South America and India are completely out of my reach at the moment due to the fact I’m still paying for my last adventures (damn credit cards!), I have taken solace in some of those ‘daft quotes’ and have concluded that the places in my own proverbial back yard are completely within my reach and by taking advantage of them, by embracing what’s in front of me, my creativity can begin to flourish again.
‘They’ say it’s important to do the things that you love; to do more of the things that you love; and to keep on doing the things that you love, especially if they’re the things that make you happy (so drinking wine and eating chocolate should be right at the top of my list then). Writing and travelling make me happy. And that’s why, as I work and slog my guts out trying to save enough money to return to Australia next year, swapping decent sleeps for caffeine-fuelled early starts and late night wine-induced researching, I’m also filling my travelling void with some ‘Daytrippin’ Adventures’ in my own country – the backyard of my soul; the places I grew up in, the country I fondly call home – the UK. And I’m writing about them too (or at least I’m attempting to, in between trying to catch 40 winks and making sure I’m eating properly).
While the constraints of endless supplies of cash (knew I shouldn’t have chopped that money tree down!) restrict me from travelling further afield and filling these pages with glorious tales of far off, exotic locations, run-ins with interesting locals and ridiculous stories of cultural mishaps; having a (semi-working) car and living on what is effectively an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean does not restrict my movements!
And this is where the important part comes in – yes, travelling to far off places is desirable, but like those ‘daft quotes’ say, it really is important to remember that what’s in your own back yard, what’s right under your nose, what’s there already, ripe for the picking, can be just as exciting and fulfilling…and it can do wonders for your creativity too.
Returning to the UK in July 2015, I was overcome by a sense of failure; creative failure and travel failure. While I’d managed to explore so many cities and areas on my past adventures in different countries, I’d failed to explore the green, green grass of my homeland. And I’d failed to write about it as well. How tragic and how ignorant of me to fail to see the beauty and wonder that was right under my nose all along. Maybe those ‘daft quotes’ had a point…
Even if they did though, I’m not saying that I’m settling for what I have, or that by exploring the UK I’m content to just accept what’s beneath my feet; I’m still striving for more, but I’m striving for more of what’s already there for the taking. And it’s this kind of striving that reignites my creative passions and helps curb my insanely itchy feet…for now.
So far in the six months since my return to Blighty, my UK explorations have seen me delve into the cosy corners of Bath, breathe in the sea air in Weston-Super-Mare, enjoy several overpriced glasses of wine in glorious Cheltenham, do some cultural sight-seeing in Coventry, Nottingham and Lincoln, and visit typical tourist traps in good old London Town. I’ve also buffed up on my history and archaeology by visiting Stonehenge, and I’ve marvelled at some breathtakingly precious scenery in The Lake and Peak Districts. I’ve found myself gaping in awe at Cathedrals and Temples, and have been stunned and blown away by architectural beauty in cities such as Glasgow and Manchester.
I’ve stuffed my face with Fish & Chips on Lincolnshire’s East Coast, and I’ve wandered the streets of Newcastle looking for Geordie Shore cast members (didn’t find any). I’ve taken pictures of historical monuments and odd looking sculptures; I’ve browsed confectioners searching for free samples of delicious sweetness, and I’ve weaved my way through busy markets and cobbled streets; sometimes dancing and singing with sheer delight. I’ve driven through villages and stopped off at the side of farmers’ fields to take in the luscious landscapes. I’ve opted for A-roads instead of motorways and I’ve packed as much into these brief adventures as you could ever imagine.
I’ve created scenarios in my head and I’ve dreamed about doing more; I’ve yearned for more, and now, I crave and ache for more. I have York and Wales and the Scottish Highlands in my sights, and the creative push and drive, and the feelings I get when I escape my provincial little town to explore the rest of the UK are all-consuming. I feel free: liberated and enlightened. I feel as if I could extract words straight from my brain, as if sentences and prose formation could ooze from every pore, creating a vivid description of my nomadic experiences.
The places I visit my not be exotic or favoured by a great climate; they may not be far off or inhabited by weird and wonderful people (although that IS debatable considering some of the characters you can come across in Britain), but they’re genuine; they’re steeped in history and they represent a slice of this world that I’m lucky enough to live in.
The Travelling Creative in me will always want to wander further afield; I’ll always want to roam the unfamiliar streets of some new city in a new country I’ve never been to; but if my creativity can be accelerated or ignited through experiences that cost little and by visiting places that are less than 300 miles away, then why shouldn’t I explore my own country while I wait in vain to continue to explore the rest of the world? Creativity can spring from anywhere, and at this moment in time, those ‘daft quotes’ don’t seem quite as daft anymore as my local ‘Daytrippin’ Adventures’ are proving to be just enough to satisfy my creative hunger.
Chasing Amy-Lou 
