frog
There’s a lot of stuff going on in here [taps head] at the moment. Ideas come and go. They burn bright and rush away. Thoughts loop around. And around. And around. It’s like a somewhat faulty fireworks display.
There’s advice everywhere about how to write more, or find new photos, or set challenges to create new things. That’s not what I need. I need a way to shut out all the new stuff, so I can find a more meaningful image or write a better story. It’s pinning the damn things down that’s the problem.
How do you do it? A mind bubbling over with great swags of free wheeling notions might sound like a good thing. But it ain’t always so. The question so often posed is ‘where do you get your ideas from?’ A more apt one might be ‘how do you stop them from getting in?’ How can you concentrate on just one thing?
That’s not to say I’m coming up with mind-blowing and original concepts. To say that would involve a level of ego I don’t even wish to aspire to. But a couple of them aren’t half-bad. What a shame that they’re buried in the clangor from a swarm of half-crazed, babbling gnats.
I’ll tell you one thing that I do, if you like. I may as well. There’s no getting anything done in this head right now.
I go outside. I sit in the sun. And I stare vacantly at the horizon. Sit, gaze, repeat. Then maybe, when everything is still and quiet, I find I can pick out one single thing. An intriguing notion or idea. Then I treasure it. Give it my full attention. And a little love. But I never, ever give it a deadline. I give it time.
Will this work for you? I can’t say for sure. Does sitting in the soft winter sunshine do you any harm? Nope. So, go on. Get outside. Take a moment from your day and set out to achieve absolutely nothing.
