[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Here’s an interesting thought….. It’s been shown, time and time again that creativity is affected by how much ‘space’ we give our brains. You must have experienced this – you’ve come back from a holiday, and come up with a really good idea, or gone for a big walk and had a solution to a problem that you’d puzzled over. If we stop doing stuff, our creativity can bubble up to the surface.

I’m not just talking about playing music, or creating art – but creative solutions to problems, or great lesson plans, or even a really good present for someone.

And yet we don’t stop. We don’t let our kids stop. We just keep going, keep stimulating. We play games on our phones instead of watching the world go by. We don’t gaze out the window. Instead of just sitting and drinking a cup of tea, we read, or check email as well.

I am bad at this…. in fact, I am terrible. I find it really hard to stop. But lately I have been experimenting on myself. I have been having a cup of tea and sitting and doing nothing. I have been gazing out the window at times. I have lay in bed, not reading or listening to music, but just been there, in the moment.

And you know what? I think my cello playing is improving. (Well, it’s getting a bit wackier. And more spacious. I like it, actually.) These two things could be unrelated, but I don’t think they are.

So here’s a challenge for you. Try it. Don’t worship your phone all the time. Look at the sky. Don’t read and drink tea (or coffee, or wine, or cider, or whatever) – just drink. I think you’ll feel better for it, you know. And probably more creative.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]