Daily Creative May 4, 2020: Seeing Red

Happy Monday.

You have probably heard the old axiom "don't forget to stop and smell the flowers" so many times you are rolling your eyes that I wrote it here. But how often do you even notice flowers? If you see some as you walk in your neighborhood do you stop to look at their shapes or sizes or tiny, perfect details? Do you ever put your nose to them and take a deep breath in?

Although a useful metaphor, stopping to smell flowers is also a legitimate creative exercise. Slowing down enough to experience small moments makes space for creative thought. Noticing the odd, or beautiful, or perfectly ordinary elements of our existence reminds us of other thought pathways that can lead us somewhere new. We have to be able to quiet the constant movement around us and see the individual notes that comprise the whole to find the creative ideas we want to cultivate.

Today's Daily Creative sounds simple but I'll be curious to know how easy or hard it is for you. I want you to notice the color red in all its shades, hues, patterns, textures. Soften your gaze and let your peripheral vision take in the red around you. Walk around your home and notice all the places the color red lives in your home. Do this for 5 minutes, and then do this all day. Wherever you are in your home, or any time you look out your window, notice the color red. If you have seen everything red in your environment, then switch to another color. Yellow maybe. Or blue. Choose a color that brings you joy and see how many tiny pieces of joy you can find in your space.

Let me know what this exercise felt like and what it brought up for you either by commenting here or on the facebook or instagram pages.