Writing: A world of inspiration - The Flying Hens Special Guest Post
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Guest post by travel bloggers, Flying Hens.
Flying Hens is the project of two solo female travellers who met whilst in Southeast Asia. With this blog they want to inspire others to see the world and enjoy all of its cultures. Their passion lies in writing and travelling and they are currently on a journey of collaboration with people around the world.
Writing: A world of inspiration
A bolt of inspiration can be a catalyst towards getting started on a road of creativity. Writing can come from a place of personal expression and recognition of the world that we live in. Overcoming the start of a writing journey can be solved by something as simple as breaking free from a routine. Physically changing what we see in front of us can inspire new paths of thought.
As travellers, we have found that the pool from which inspiration comes is vast and plentiful. It awoke new feelings within us and allowed us to transcend our writing limitations. We were able to accomplish a level of creativity that we never thought possible. As we escaped from the shackles of our routine lives, which had become monotonous and therefore lacking in creativity, we realised that physical freedom also allowed our minds to perceive and process in a much more open way. A vital part of being a writer is to be alive, be inspired by life and be curious about the world we are living in.
The true beauty of travel is an overhaul of sensory perception; everything becomes heightened. Everyday there are new and fascinating sights, smells and sounds. The natural world is an obvious escape from our generally urban lifestyles and it can allow us to find inspiration in things we would usually take for granted, such as the sound of a waterfall, trees rustling in the wind or even just complete and utter silence. It’s not just nature that can inspire us when travelling. The people and cultures that we encounter really open our eyes to the possibilities of life. The spectrum of human behaviour in different cultures is fascinating and therefore a beautiful channel for creative thinking. Travelling is the perfect opportunity to sit back, open a notebook and watch the day unfold.
Whilst travelling solo we found ourselves doing exactly this and when we met we realised that we had so many similar ideas and passions. It was there in a roadside restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, surrounded by locals, that we came up with the idea of the Flying Hens travel blog. We wanted to inspire others to travel and experience different cultures the way that we were. Not only that but we wanted to create a travel community whereby we could collaborate with people from all over the world to create something beautiful. We decided that writing about our own travels, although exciting for us, was not enough. We drew our writing inspiration from the world and the people we met. Because of this we wanted to carry on being inspired and involve people in our project.
In a way, our travels acted as a retreat for us. It wasn’t just a holiday; it was an experience. A period of time spent channelling our thoughts in a new direction, seizing inspiration from all around us and using that to further our passions. Although slow travel is an ideal conduit for becoming an enthusiastic writer, it’s not the only way. As mentioned before simply changing our routine or surrounding ourselves with like-minded people can be the catalyst needed to get started. In this respect attending a workshop or a retreat, whether alone or accompanied, can also be a beautiful way to inspire the writer inside of us. Retreats can help us find the beauty in peaceful external surroundings, before taking a deep meditative breath and relaxing into an internal journey.
The truth is that we can’t just wait for writing inspiration to magically appear before us from thin air. It is something that we search for and sometimes find in the most unlikely places. It can be a beautiful experience of opening your door and stepping out into the unknown. There is no telling where the path will take you and what doors will open. The only way to know for sure is to go find out for yourself.