It is amazing what you can find in old computer files. Came across this tonight getting ready for a trip to Ohio and a session on Creativity…
I’m a wanderer. It is that simple. I find great pleasure in having no set destination. Don’t get me wrong, I have a direction, just not a destination. Wandering for me is more of a way of life than a thing to do. It is important in life to have goals, plans and dreams; but it is also important to have a degree of floating in your life. If your life is too planned out, it takes all of the fun out of it.
There are endless places for people to wander: on the streets, in a library, in a mall, on the internet, or in the privacy of their own heads. (Now is the point in the article where you can put it down and feel no sense of lose. If you choose to continue, you do so at your own risk).
Wandering is something that needs to be explained. Wandering is something that can take place anytime, anywhere. When I am wandering I don’t really care where I’m going, or how fast I need to get there. It can take place in a library, or a grocery store. It can take two minutes, two hours or two days. Wandering shows me many things that I’ve never seen before, and it takes me to places that I haven’t been in a long time.
I know what you’re thinking, “What is he talking about?” Well here is the connection that I have made. Wandering is something that I need to do. It is not a want, but a need. I need to do it to keep my mind active, to keep the cobwebs out of the corners of the attic of my head. It helps me to continue to see things in new and exciting ways. Wandering allows me to look at my dreams and goals. Wandering allows me to dance under a streetlight. Wandering allows me to relax.
Children are born wanderers, that is who they are. Their minds are in a constant state of “wandering”. Adults call this a short attention span. It can be a frustrating thing if you are not prepared for it. I work with children everyday and everyday I encounter the beauty of wandering in these children. From the songs that they sing, (one guy sings about his bellybutton), to the adventures that they can have with toy airplanes, trains and Lego. They let their imaginations wander freely. When is the last time you did?
Our minds need to wander. All to often we get bogged down in the monotony of everyday life, projects to do, work to be done, phone calls to make – we never give our minds a chance to just wander. The mind is a limitless entity, it have more memories than we could possible imagine. The connections that your mind makes are central to your being. The wandering that your mind can do will bring you new insights, pleasant memories, great ideas, and endless entertainment. Creativity cannot occur unless we let ourselves and our minds wander. Take a walk in the rain, sit in a mall and watch the people walk by, lie in a field and watch the clouds. The more we let our minds and ourselves wander, the more we will see the world and our situations in new ways, better ways. We will be able to help others. That is the big goal, isn’t it?
Joe Richards