For most of my school years, I loved learning and I loved to write. But every year at exam time, I struggled. I could never seem to explain in a logical manner what the examiners wanted to hear. Maybe that’s why journalling came much more readily to me; I’ve always found it easier to express myself when I’ve stepped away from my desk. I’ve found solace and flow when writing in nature.
For years, I have been an advocate of writing outdoors. I find it easier to write or journal after I’ve been for a walk. In fact, walking is a creative primer and stimulus. I can be out on a walk, in a relaxed state and, from seemingly out of nowhere, whole batches of text relating to a project that definitely wasn’t front of mind will suddenly appear.
It turns out that when we are out walking surrounded by nature, we fall into a more optimal space for the mind to kick into what’s known as its default mode. Once in the default mode, the mind naturally connects across all the different hemispheres. It’s from this state that we solve problems, that the answer just comes, and ideas pop up.