Happy lovers know that distance makes the heart grow fonder.
Successful and creatively-expressed entrepreneurs know that it also gives you an enormous amount of essential, healing perspective, as well as new insight and ideas.
From the moment I load suitcases into my car and push the button to lower the hatch door, I exhale and know the journey–the adventure–now begins. I typically leave early in the morning to make the 3-hour drive to the Atlanta airport so I can avoid traffic and have plenty of time to make my flight without stress.
I drive along the narrow, curvy roads in the dark and in silence. I get clear on the top 3 intentions I have for the trip and think about them for an hour or so before turning on a podcast or interview to accompany me.
Regardless if I am traveling in the United States or across the Atlantic to Europe, I find that the act of getting into an airplane signals something divine in the creative, unified field.
I imagine this divine source might whisper, “She’s ready and responsive to receiving magic–open the floodgates.”
I always have my journal and pen handy on the flight; once seated, the ideas begin to flow. I toggle back and forth between reading and writing, finding rich fodder in each. Turning my phone completely off is a delicious silence and freedom in and of itself, as well.
Once I’ve landed, unpacked, and am out and about, my brain goes into hyper-focus mode in a way that is unique to being in a new setting. Colors, lines, shadows, facades, doors, window boxes, people, architecture, clouds, noises, aromas, and how the ground feels under me all take on a new interest, awareness, and appreciation.
I begin to make cognitive connections among seemingly disparate chunks of information and stop to scribble it all down before it flees. I feel light on my feet and in my heart. My brain, on fire, shouts, “This is all wonderful!!! More input!”
If your work and your experience of your everyday life have lost its sheen or its capacity to wow you, consider a trip away. Put distance among where you are now, the mindset you possess, and your typical, daily routine. Step out into a new environment and culture that slough off rusty, incoherent thinking and being.
By leaving home, you will return to your true self.
