How to Stay Inspired
15/02/2012
Dear Readers,
Recently moved back from London town to the Middle East. The differences are immense from continent to continent. Wet to dry, efficient to not, fast to slow. Don’t get me wrong, I have no regrets. The family is here, the good food is here, and good weather is here, and plenty of sports and outdoor activity to keep me busy. I managed to substitute everything that is, expect feeling inspired. I use the key word feeling because in my London city all I had to do was step outside my blue Notting Hill door and choose one out of the 3000 galleries and exhibits to visit to feel mentally stimulated and challenged by good art.
There were concept stores opening left and right, and Time Out London was always full to the brim with concerts, events, meets and greets and openings. I miss going out with a Chinese friend and learning about congestion in Hong Kong or going out for good Indian food with the local Indian Brits in the area and hearing stories of Divali celebrations in East London.
It seemed like I was meeting 100 people a day and everyone was doing different things. In one week I recall meeting a set designer for low budget theatre shows in Soho, light installation artist who was exhibiting in Somerset House, a stylist for fashion156.com, and an architect slave to Zaha Hadid. Everyone was doing what they loved, doing it their own way, and doing it differently than the next person.
People were exposed; they saw enough of what was happening around them to be able to choose to do things their own way with confidence. One of my fondest memories of was having dinner at chef Anisa Helou’s gorgeous apartment where she cooked for 2 architects who were working with Norman Foster, a BBC radio show host, a writer and two editors. I was delighted with the space, the food, and the good conversation. It was truly a night to remember.
But most importantly I concluded after the all the events and meets and greets, that I simply had to raise my game. I could no longer be an observer, the typical Khaleeji that walked the streets of Knightsbridge aimlessly; I had to be a game player.
And I played the game to best of my ability and jump started my own projects, and did my thing strong and hard.
And now that the games are over and I am back full circle where I started, it seems I am limited to the activities of the island. I get way too excited for an art opening in Al Bareh gallery, and attend every Ministry of Culture opening and talk, in pure desperation to feel inspired, or feel anything really. Since I have been back I would say I have attended a fair share of events, workshops, exhibits, and openings and I can count a mere 3 times where I felt satisfied. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not a complainer, I am a constructive criticist. I read somewhere that as humans we feel alive by experiencing new things, we are not creatures of routine, we need to be put out of our comfort zone to feel exhilarated. So what are we supposed to do when we don’t experience that inspiration so easily? Jump off a cliff?
I have come up with a list that helps
- Create mini milestones (mine is make a piece of furniture with my local carpenter)
- Do something completely new, ride a bike, learn a new sport or do a new activity (mine is diving)
- Read until you find an author that stimulates your mind (mine is Haruki Murakami)
- Write (having a blog helps) writing notes (mine is fashionambitions)
- Create a circle of creative’s that you can bounce ideas from (I have yet to do this)
- Fall in love (this is a tough one)
- And the most affective one, is travel if you can afford it (to new places of course, never visit the same place twice I say, unless it is the Emirates Stadium)
- Break a rule and get in trouble and get yourself out of it (can’t share this here)
- Do yoga and learn to breath (this really helps to thing clearly)
The above nine tips are merely a temporary plaster to an occurring complaint we hear and say over and over again. What else can do we do to stay inspired in the Khaleej?