So, here I am again. You may have noticed I haven’t posted that many yet on my new website. Busy with so many things, rushing through the days to get all things done. To be able to write, you need to have some peace of mind, relax a little and let it flow. Hmmm… pretty hard when you have only four hours a day for work and feel like you need to give everybody your best work and effort! On the one hand, it’s a great feeling when I have worked four hours straight, deeply concentrated and finished everything on my list. On the other hand, it can make me feel exhausted and leave me uninspired to do something new.
How surprised I was when I read this very interesting article in Hapinezz issue 6-2017 (Hapinezz is one of my favorite Dutch magazines). Dr. Sini Pillay explained that our brains need to unfocus on a very regular basis. During unfocused moments, your brains process memories and link them to what happens today. It is a necessary state of mind to let your creativity flow. So, when you decide to leave your laptop for a moment, don’t pick up that memo you still need to read or start sketching a new design. The most effective way to rest and make sure you can focus again later, is to do something that is not useful. You should wander around, dream a little and play. What, play? It’s that word we use for our kids, when we tell them to put down the tablet and go outside. It’s that thing we were incredibly good at in our days (at least we think so) and forgot all about…
A few weeks ago, I was in this little wood nearby, called ‘Den Dunki’. You should be able to find the entrance when you head to neighborhood Bottelier. I was walking there with my son, enjoying every minute of it on an early Sunday morning. He was running around, wondering about the colors of the leaves, listening to the shrieking sound of the trees. We had nice little 1-minute-conversations. At the end of the walk, we ran into a kind of play yard. Just a few swings and ropes, but it looked great and promising. And yes, my son enjoyed every minute of it. And I? I was taking pictures. This happens to be one of the things I’m passionate about, so I guess you could say I was having fun, and I took some really pretty pictures. But I do realize now, that it would have been the perfect moment to… yes, play. We will go to the woods again, maybe I will bring my camera (because it is a kind of addiction, to be honest), but I will make sure to put it away right on time!