21 January, 2013

Where is your Creative Sanctuary?

tingalpa lake green leafy
Today I found my creative sanctuary only a few minutes walk from my front door. It's amazing how such a beautiful place can be in the middle of suburbia; it's nestled between a main road and a housing estate.Who would have thought it was here, hiding behind a row of trees and bushes.

To be honest, I didn't actually discover it today. I've lived in my current place for three years, and I'm a walker. I love to explore, and try and get some exercise while I'm at it, so I had come across this place before, but I hadn't been here in ages and had forgotten about it. It's an easy place to miss if you don't know where it is, as the entrance is well hidden. It's my secret garden- although I bumped into a couple of children exploring here too, so perhaps it's not that much of a secret to the locals.

sanctuary peaceful contemplative


I have a second favourite place. It's an old quarry that was abandoned when the workers hit a natural spring almost 100 years ago and it's now a small lake in bushland with a walking track surrounding it. It's about a ten minute walk from my place and I'm sure not all the locals know of it's existence. This site is far more open and sunny (and has far less mosquitoes) than the wetlands area, but both are beautiful, quiet, and so close to me that I can escape for a little while any time I like, chill and just be.

I do love where I live :)

Do you have a special place you can go to switch off (literally and figuratively)? Somewhere you find beautiful, serene, a break from your usual routine?

For me, it's nature and water that soothes me. I love to watch birds on the water, listen to their songs, see the turtles come up for air. Or if I'm at the beach, it's the sound of the wind and the waves that seem to clear my head of cobwebs and make everything clearer. From a creative point of view, I love to go somewhere that inspires me. The serenity of a secluded place, no electronic distractions, just me and my thoughts and sometimes I bring my pencils, sketch pads and watercolours.

Is there somewhere near your home that you can go, to switch off and just 'be'? It doesn't have to be a secret place, what about your local park? Sit on a park bench one day, under the shade of a tree, take a book or just listen to the birds and the sound of the wind in the trees. LEAVE THE PHONE AT HOME! Chill, relax,it's great thinking time.

Who knows, you might have an epiphany. A great invention, a better mousetrap. An idea for a song/play/painting/poem/speech etc. That writer's block you've been suffering from in your assignment might disappear and all become clearer if you get away from your usual routine and find your own personal creative sanctuary.

Let me know how you go...

follow me on instagram