mahabis guide // how to find your creative space

‘To be creative you must create a space for yourself where you can be undisturbed…separate from everyday concerns.’ - John Cleese

During the day our thoughts come and go, a relentless chatter in our minds. We become used to the chatter as we take in our surroundings, thoughts of things we must do, work concerns, messages and notifications. Our everyday white noise can be stifling for our creativity. In the busyness of life it can be difficult to find a space to relax in our thoughts. Yet space is one of the most pertinent things that affects our thought-scape.

We react instinctively to space. Open doors can leave us uneasy and unfamiliar darkness can cause disquiet. The space we exist in affects the shape of the thoughts we have. Finding spaces which allow the fluid movement of our thoughts, stretching outward like a yoga pose, enhances our creativity. The mind, like a muscle, enjoys being stretched out, allowing thoughts to drift, and feel their way into the space. When it is not bound by the built walls around us or constrained in a highly focused task, it allows the thoughts we have to reach their natural conclusion, not cut off by pressing matters or interruptions. The links which allow our thoughts to gently move from one to another become more tangible, and ideas flow.

Inspiring environments are those which allow for thoughts to have the space to develop - such as the stimulating space of an airy library filled with the smell of travelled books and potential. Surrounded by knowledge and thought, the seemingly unending collection of ideas stimulates our own creativity. The museum gallery. A white and airy space containing hours of creative work, which can be contemplated and enjoyed, unencumbered by the everyday.

Spaces of inspiration often provide a space of potential. Potential can be seen as openness, a minimalistic environment which allows our thoughts to drift and fill the space, uninhibited. Crowded, cluttered spaces often leave us feeling the pressing weight of the objects around us. Inspirational spaces exist all around. Rolling waves of a beach, woods filled with life and nature, rainfalls that rush down on everything, leaving us to smell the freshness it has left. Spaces of potential are those which open us up, allowing us to have the room to think, feel and most importantly relax.

The spaces we create for ourselves are so valuable in our own lives: the relaxed, minimal bedroom which allows for rest; the organised kitchen which opens our creativity to cook and experiment with flavours. The commonality between them is that they are not overbearing, they allow us to exist within them rather than shaping our existence.

The relaxed, inspired creativity that comes from free thought gives our lives the ability to operate on a range of volumes. The high volume of our busy daily lives can be countered by the soft muted background of our creative, lives. The spaces we exist in shape us - therefore creating our ideal spaces and visiting them often can help us truly realise our potential.

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photos via unsplash