bear hunt?!
I have been thinking about artist dates, yesterday and today, since due to this lockdown / COVID times we live in, we might think that whatever we do on a date must involve going out, interacting with people, and spending money. I went through phases in my life in which I did not work, or I was a student, and of course, money and spending on “frivolities'' were an issue. Still, artist dates are important and I cannot stress enough that we need to take that time for ourselves.
So, would you like to:
Rearrange some furniture in order to create some space just for you and your journalling?
What about taking some time to do some “spontaneous” dancing? Or singing?
Eat food you've never eaten before, or sitting in a part of your house you never used as a dining room...
Going for a walk seems to be the easiest version of a date, but what about following a map (and I mean a paper map you might have drawn yourself)? What about leaving the phone behind? What about going through streets you have never been before? What about drawing the map while you are walking?
Listening to audiobooks and/or podcasts? Here is the link to Deepak Chopra’s Spotify podcast. Since I define myself as a Vedantin from a spiritual perspective, I often listen to him, and to Swami Sarvapriyananda on here. But there are endless choices out there...
Taking time to care for our body is also important: some extra awareness and mindfulness while cooking and bathing can turn into a whole new experience;
Of course, nature and tree-hugging, standing still face-to-the-sun, gathering flowers, butterflies counting and also following the National Trust 50 things to do before you are 11 ¾ here (even if you are 50!) are all options to take into consideration...
Go around your town as if you were a tourist: what do you see that you haven’t noticed before?
Eating out or going for a coffee with a book could be more difficult now but nothing stops you from bringing your coffee in a flask, with a sandwich or a slice of your favourite cake and eat it outside!
There are endless things you could learn while staying at home: rudiments of crafts, a new language, map-drawing, how to read music, tarot cards, anything… literally ANYTHING! Once I spent a whole day on the homepage of Wikipedia (and I mean the whole page! Perfect starting point to make your curiosity juices flowing...)
… and sometimes just staring at the window, daydreaming, and letting your imagination go, can turn out the best artist date you can think of!
And don’t forget that out there on the web there are plenty of ideas, starting with fancy dressing up in colourful tutus and walking into your nearest graveyard and having a bit of a dance. Or pretend you don’t understand English, watch a movie in a different language, or change persona and identity for a couple of hours… Yes, I know, you can do anything!
The most important thing is that, whatever you do, you actually take that time just for yourself, for a play-date, an excursion, an experimentation, a putting-into-practice your creative vibes. Take your child-within out and make him/her play. Let them loose for a couple of hours… and of course, write about it!
Now, you go and play!
If you haven’t done it yet and you would like to join me, pls check my first post here and follow me on FB here for tips, hints and to share your experience.
Sending you all good vibes!
onwards + upwards ♡
mandi!
mx
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