03. Where to find inspiration outside of the internet
Our imagination is sacred, and our most powerful resource
Hi my dear readers! How is the end of Spring treating you? Summer is so close I can feel it in my bones! I hope you are adapting well to the longer days of sunshine. Life on my end has been a bit busy lately. I tend to over-commit to things, only to realize later that maybe I am spreading myself too thin. I am currently trying to find ways to prioritize my sanity and avoid burning out like last summer.
It doesn’t help that opening social media right now and witnessing genocide and the violation of human rights in the world makes me feel hopeless about our future. I sometimes feel guilty, too, of living in such a privileged city, and being surrounded by abundance, safety, and having the opportunity to disconnect when I need to.
While going off-grid is not an option, since we have to stay informed and look for ways of showing up for our humanity, it’s important to find tools that allow us to ground ourselves in the face of all these horrors. Making the space to connect with our creativity, with our imagination, is more important than ever.
Today, I bring you the third installment of my series: Where to find inspiration outside of the internet. For when you need tools or ideas to recharge offline, and come back stronger, with more perspective. I hope you enjoy this one!
In case you missed it:
DIY projects
Doing something with your hands it’s one of the best ways to spark inspiration when feeling blocked. The end goal is less important. The main purpose of doing a craft should be to let yourself flow and let the outcome surprise you. Cool summer DIY projects I am thinking about?
A summer photo album, so that I can print all the photos I have on my phone and decorate them with all the stickers I have been accumulating since the year started. And mainly to follow this piece of advice that seemed to resonate with lots of people:
A scrapbook or junk journal
Changing the boring buttons of a few shirts and purses with new, cute ones I thrifted
Painting wood frames to put some art pieces on the walls of my apartment
Social clubs and in-person events
My friend started a walking club and I am excited to join her events this summer. I don’t think she has a page yet, but I will share once it’s ready in case any of you in Vancouver want to come along. I find that having meaningful conversations with people in life is one of the things that always inspires me to create. Plus, walking is my favorite way of moving. It’s a win-win!
I am also challenging myself to step outside of my comfort zone and attend more events alone this summer. It’s a bit scary and uncomfortable, but I went to a pop-up and art exhibition alone last month and it didn’t go terribly. Tonight I am going to an event organized by one of my favorite local third spaces in the city, Butter Garden. I am excited about what can come from all these conversations with new people I’ll meet.
Learning a new language
It is scientifically proven that speaking more than one language can make you more empathetic, creative, and a better problem solver! I have been very interested in learning Italian for the past couple of weeks, since it’s relatively easy for me since I speak Spanish. I am thinking of watching movies in Italian or finding vlogs on YouTube in Italian to practice a bit. I trip to Italy would be ideal, but it’s not in the books at least this year.
Poetry books and artsy magazines
I’ve paused reading self-help books this year and am consuming more fiction and poetry books this summer. I think there is a time and place for a good self-help read or motivational memoir, but it’s nice to also read things just for fun, to nourish the soul, instead of obsessing over manuals that tell you how to fix yourself.
I’ve also been consuming more magazines lately. Growing up, they were one of my main sources of inspiration, before Tumblr or Pinterest came into the picture. I want to allow myself to read for pleasure. Not every read has to be an intellectual endeavor.
One of my favorite activities lately is grabbing design magazines and taking a bunch of notes to really retain the things I find interesting (again, not everything we consume has to lead to productivity). But sometimes it can be a nice way of sparking inspiration. I like to pay attention to the color combinations, patterns, new artists or designers to check out, etc. Here is an example of all the notes I took from this AD, specifically from Paloma’s feature. Highly recommend this as a way of developing your personal taste, too.
5. Drawing dates
One of my favorite activities, either solo or with friends! Favorite places for a drawing date?
A very nice pond
A coffee shop with lots of natural lighting
A dog park
Your friend’s living room
Video Games
I have been playing Mario Kart on Nintendo Switch with my partner lately, and I have been amazed at how relaxed I feel during and after playing. I always lose, but the fun part for me is immersing myself in these fantastic worlds that bring me so much nostalgia as I grew up playing Mario games with my sister, sharing turns to use our Nintendo DS. When you are playing a game, time flows so differently, and there is something about the colors, the characters, the sounds that leaves me feeling very inspired!
What are your favorite, and maybe unexpected, ways of finding inspiration? I want to hear all about it! And maybe include it in the next installment of this series?
Stay safe out there ❤️
Florencia
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Video games are sooo relaxing bc they truly take you out of the world and require your whole focus. I played the Hogwarts Legacy came when it came out and it was amazing!! Highly recommend!
love drawing dates with friends!