The average American spends, according to different estimations, somewhere between one year and five years of his life standing in lines. People in major US cities spend approximately 40 minutes a day waiting for public transit, which adds up to 150 hours a year. Millions of people around the world are walking in the city streets every day.
Most of us are probably focused most of this time either on the next couple of steps ahead, or on our smartphones. Think of all this time. Can you imagine harnessing it to something amazing like developing your creativity? You don’t need any mind-blowing exercises for that, any reading material, or any special aid. You already have everything you need with you: your eyes and mind.
And all you have to do is to look!
We miss so much of what’s around us. We got used to looking straight ahead, instead of exploring and actively looking for new things. On first look it might all look ordinary – almost invisible. But if you mindfully look around you, you will soon discover numerous little treasures: things you didn’t expect, things you haven’t noticed before, and maybe a couple of things about yourself.
Using the enormous amount of allegedly dead time for the experience of discovery is amazing. One of my favourite activities is walking in the street, whether I am on my way to somewhere or just wandering aimlessly. But that’s just a starting point. The true magic is taking what you find and using it as raw material for new associations, stories, and creations.
Using the same dead time for sharpening your ability not only to discover amazing things around you, but also to create, imagine, and play with them in your mind, has an amazing effect. Gradually you start experiencing the world like never before. Everything gets a new and exciting meaning in your mind. It’s literally like learning to see the world for the first time. Only now you see it differently.
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If you haven’t done so already, try seempli. It is designed to get you started exploring, discovering, and imagining without investing any extra time. Oh… and it’s pure fun!