Nine Ways to use Creativity to Enjoy your Vacation
I just returned from a week-long vacation to New Mexico with my sister. We had a blast. When I got home I realized how many ways I’d used creativity to enjoy my trip to the fullest. Here’s some of them, along with some photos of our travels.
1. Planning is a creative endeavor.
Organizing the trip schedule is one of my favorite parts of traveling. It’s like doing preliminary drawings for an upcoming painting. If done with a relaxed attitude in which I remember that the actual trip may pan out differently than the prep work indicates, I’ll get two trips: the one in my mind, and the one that happens. Both can be delightful.
On this trip we based our stays in the cities (Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos) and took trips into the country for excursions. We ended up doing almost everything I’d planned, and didn’t mind skipping a few spots when we were tired.
2. Have creative diversions when travel plans are thwarted.
Planes, trains, and automobiles aren’t always reliable. I take a sketchbook and pencils for times when flights are delayed and other travel annoyances. If I get bored with drawing (fat chance,) I keep an arsenal of mini-projects to fight off feeling negative about waiting. Books, movies, games, meditation, chair yoga: you can make it a creative project to write a list of all the fun things you can do if you’re stuck.
I had only one flight delay on our trip, and it gave me time to finish one of the hundreds of drawings I have of the insides of airports. Good practice with linear perspective!
3. Take photos and share them.
My sister and I took copious photos and had mini slide shows for each other in the evening. It can be one of the most rewarding part of a trip to add the creative act of taking pictures to the adventure. Now that we can share them with the world so easily, it offers a chance to inspire others to travel and enjoy more experiences.
4. New brain pathways are created by new sights.
Even if you’re not engaging with breathtaking scenery like we did, seeing anything new is good for the mind. Being out of our normal environment enlivens the senses with newness and revs up our noticing-muscles. It’s like getting a refreshing workout for the soul.
5. Getting along requires innovation
If you’re around other people, whether as travel companions or just the hospitality personnel around you, your patience may be tested. Keeping good relations can be a super rewarding creative project. Knowing which people skill to use in a situation necessitates momentary constraint while you draw the right arrow from your quiver. It may be a smile. It could be waiting until emotions simmer until a courteous countenance is possible. It could mean dropping the judgment and breathing deeply. It could be a light and clear statement of need. If you’re practiced at not blowing up when others get a rise out of you, it will be an easier task.
My sister and I got along well. A few minor hiccups were handled by both of us using the above skills, and all cooled down quickly. The odds that two people are going to be in perfect behavior when tired or hungry are tiny. It’s a normal part of relating to expect frustration sometimes.
6. Awareness of your senses resets stress levels
If you weren’t stressed with everyday life before the trip, getting ready and travel days may change that. Paying attention with all your senses to our vacation location and activities can jolt you out of the default mode of low-grade worry. Breathe the air, smell the new smells. (Even in mundane situations there’s always new scents to notice.) See how the light is different. Notice the humidity and the way people talk. Check in with the background noises of the city or the silence of the country. It’ll be different from home.
There wasn’t a moment when New Mexico didn’t offer up very different culture, weather, sounds, air; it was an invigorating draft of novelty, compared to home.
7. Get inspired by the creations of others
Seeing new paintings or architecture (or even highways) is a gallery of new art to spur your creativity. It’s especially impressive to visit museums or famous buildings, but even the everyday houses and businesses (and their names) can trigger your innovative mind. Human-made creative projects are a huge influence on your imagination.
We visited a few art museums and saw plenty of stimulating architecture. It rates as high as the natural wonders of a place, for me, and that’s saying something.
8. Taking in natural wonders is a powerful creative tonic
There’s not much to add. Nature’s every square inch has a world of marvels and beauty to present, all as a gift. It can’t help but nourish and enliven us in every way, but especially creatively.
9. Ending the trip gracefully is a creative act.
There’s a knack to letting go of the time away and re-entering our normal lives. Expecting a little (or a lot) of frustration and annoyance is wise. If all goes smoothly, there’s no bother, but knowing that discomfort can accompany your return helps with acceptance. Writing about the trip or arranging photos can stretch the gladness a bit longer, and give you future keepsakes. Most importantly, it will offer your individual take on the place you visited, a creative product that may inspire others to go off and adventure.
Embrace the creative possibilities of every aspect of your holiday, even the tricky ones, and you’ll take even more pleasure and growth from it.
