Why Creatives Should Embark on a Camping Retreat
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Creative artists and writers have an opportunity that some may not have with their chosen career. They are able to take their process with them wherever they go. Creatives who write, paint, or draw have the tools available to take their work anywhere they want and continue in places that encourage and inspire their work. A great place for that is camping!
Anyone who works on a hobby, career, or business knows that you are bombarded with distractions constantly. From e-mails, phone calls, social media notifications to visitors, family, pets and even the internet. Anything that isn’t related to your hobby, career, or business as you are working on it can become a distraction. You loose your train of thought, your idea you hadn’t written down yet, or the flow of focus. It’s just plain difficult to get things done with distractions all around you.
Your Solution
The solution to this problem is to get away. Whether that is going on a retreat, a short vacation, road trip or camping. Getting away can reset your mind and allow you to see different perspectives, different solutions to problems and creative avenues for the projects you’re working on. Great inspiration comes when you’re not looking for it. Leave the distractions behind and head out where your soul can rest and rejuvenate, creating better focus and creative insight.
In this article, we’ll be focusing on camping as it provides (I believe) the most benefits to the creative artist in the form of budget, creative flow, and relaxation.
Why Camping
Why might creative enjoy camping as apposed to other types of retreat options? Well, the benefits of connecting with nature, relaxing your mind and soul, and the fact that it’s pretty cheap on the budget are a few items to consider.
Benefits
Camping for anyone has its benefits, whether you are a survival camper or what they consider a “Glamper”. You are able to travel away from the hustle and bustle of life for a period of time; to relax and recoup your body and mind from every day stressors. There is nothing like getting away and have some peace and quiet to let your mind focus on the surrounding sounds and sight instead of the reports due, the project you’re working on for work (not related to your hobby, career, or business) or items in the house that need your attention.
You are able to get back to basics, gathering firewood (and chopping if necessary), setting up your tent, making your own food, and enjoying the outdoors. You disconnect from screens and notifications allowing yourself to focus on that which is around you… nature. The root of all things is in nature. Your soul settles and your mind clears when you sit in “silence”, listening to nature as it was intended to be.
It’s Flexible
Camping is one of the few activities you can do any time of year, depending on where you live and how far you are willing to travel. You can go when it’s muggy and hot, or when the land is changing colors for fall. If you have a camper, you could even go in the colder months as long as you prepare well.
It’s completely up to you when you go and where, you can always find places to camp with reasonable prices for your need to escape for a short time. Of course, you may not want to go in the winter months but if that’s your preference, all the more power to you.
It’s Cheap
Unless you find some massively great deal elsewhere, camping is one of the cheapest activities you can do and still have a blast. Other than the basics of a tent, food, eating utensils, clothes, and a few other things, you don’t NEED anything else. No electronics, no need to post to social media, no distractions, and no negative influences that brought you to seek solitude in the first place.
Note: If you insist on bringing your electronics with you, I get it, everyone has a cell phone. Don’t just turn off notifications. Uninstall those apps that will still continue to be a distraction to you even without notifications. Trust me, your brain will naturally revert back to instagram when your sitting around the fire, relaxing and feeling like you have nothing to do.
When camping you bring what’s easy to cook and eat, you find or buy firewood, and bring the basics you need to survive. Nothing else matters. It’s just you and nature.
Wilderness and Inspiration
Depending on where you plan to camp, you may need to prepare for larger wildlife such as bears. If you prepare for them before hand, you can still have a great time without any incidences. Otherwise, you can enjoy nature as it was intended for you to do. Be quiet, be still, notice the nuances of nature, the sounds of wildlife and the beauty that surrounds you.
Nature gives your soul and mind time to relax. It allows your creative mind space and energy to, well, be creative. Use the sound and sights as inspiration for your creative endeavors. Take pictures, record sounds, take notes that you can refer to when you get home, but most importantly, enjoy your self.
Be Active
As creatives we may not move around a lot. Sitting at a desk or table for long periods of time or even perhaps standing at an easel, which gives you more movement, but not enough. Walking, hiking, outdoor activities, packing, unpacking, setup and more will help you get the activity you need to get your body moving.
We all know we need to move more, even if you set up something at home to get you moving, there is nothing like getting out and exploring the world. See the sights, hear the sounds and enjoy life as you were intended too.
Creative Process as It Relates to Camping
If you’ve read some of my other posts, you know I like to compare things and just like those, this article is no different. So, let’s relate the creative process to camping, shall we.
Planning
As with any project or trip there is a planning process that should, if not need to happen. When you go camping you should have a plan of where to camp, what to bring, what to eat, what activities you can do and more. You plan out each day, the budget, and more to make the trip go as smoothly as possible.
The same goes for the creative artist, whether writing, painting, sketching or photography; you plan what you need to bring with, the topics you want to capture, outline if you’re writing and research any areas or items that need researching. You may also provide deadlines for your projects and goals to keep you going as you camp.
Prepping
For your trip, this is the packing process. You want to make sure your packing is as efficient and organized as possible to be able to bring all the essentials. You don’t want to get to the site and realize you forgot anything.
For the creative process, this is the regulated research part of your process. Over planning and researching of your project can stifle the creative process and cause you to never be ready to actually work on the physical project. Search for what you need, but don’t let it get so out of hand that you to move forward with creating.
Arrival
You finally arrive at your site and as with all sites, unless the last person left it a mess, it’s a clear site with nothing but perhaps a fire pit and picnic table. It’s a clean slate for you to organize your camping gear, your tent and more.
Everyone has their own way of organizing a site when they arrive and it’s the same with the creative process. This is that blank sheet of paper/canvas. You need to fill that page with creative words and strokes of the hand.
What may help here is a schedule. The time you have to write. When you have a schedule no matter the amount of time – a few minutes here and hour or two there, you need to know when you have time to work on your projects to get them complete. Working on your dreams, you need to take whatever advantages and time you have.
Enjoy Your Time
Now that everything is set up and ready, you have the time to enjoy. Enjoy the time you have outdoors, within nature, and allow your mind to rest; your creative awareness to take hold. This, here, is the time you’ve been looking forward too. You now have the space and motivation to enjoy the creative process as well as the environment around you.
Clean-Up and Organizing
Whether you are cleaning up the sight or your creative masterpiece, you move things around, make adjustments to placement and look over the area to make sure you haven’t missed anything.
This is you checking over your work for errors, adjustments, revisions, re-reads, and personal edits. You polish that piece to the point of nearly complete, but you still have one more thing to do when you arrive home from this amazing step before you are done.
Un-pack
When you return home, it’s now the time to unpack the car once more and put everything away to await the next amazing adventure you go on. This includes cleaning anything out, packaging anything that may have gotten loose, refolding the tent to actually fit into that tiny compact case it came in and more.
As with un-packing the car, you need to un-pack your work. More revisions are necessary, another read through, other sets of eyes as you send your work to those you trust for critique and further editing or suggestions. It’s a long process and one that must be done, but well worth it.
Savor the Trip
Your trip is now over and you are able to relish in the memories you’ve made. Reflect on the accomplishments you gained while taking that much needed break into the woods. Remember the great times and even the not so great times that will make you laugh when reflecting months or years down the road.
You’ve finish your project/piece, it is now complete with no further edits or changes to be made. You can now enjoy that finished items in your hands with pride and accomplishment. You did a great job and you’re ready for your next adventure!
Important Points
No one wants to go on a trip, even camping, without being as prepared as possible. Here are some things to keep in mind as you prepare for your trip.
Check the Weather
Trust me, there have been a few times we’ve planned a camping trip and ended up in our van due to bad weather. We had to pull up our tent and pour water out of it, then drive miles to the nearest laundry mat to clean our drenched clothes. So, check the weather and prepare for what’s to come if it looks like there may be rain or storms during your outing.
Sun and Mosquitos
I am a redhead and like most, I burn extremely easy. I always keep sunscreen, bug spray, hand sanitizer, and whatever else I might need in a small pack ready to be placed in any bag for travel. Now that I have kids, I keep two in case they go somewhere I’m not going. Not that they need it half the time, they take after their dad and tan nicely, but I’m prepare, just in case.
Comfort
Keep this in mind, you are going into the woods after all. Find some a sturdy folding table if you have need of one and comfy folding chairs. You’ll be there for a few days at least, and you want a little comfort. This goes for any bedding as well. Air mattress, cot, or sleeping bag to make the ground a bit more tolerable to sleep on.
The Necessities
Whether you’ll be hiking to your chosen camping spot or not, you want to be sure you have adequate food, water, clothing, and shelter for your trip. Double check everything, make a plan and be sure you bring a little extra if you feel you may need it.
Inform Someone
You may be going on this trip to get away from all the distractions, but tell someone where you’ll be and for how long. Someone should always know where you’ll be in case of emergencies. You never want to go on a trip and leave everyone hanging as to where you are. People worry, and naturally revert to the worst case possible. So, do them a favor, keep them at ease, and let someone know your plans.
Final Thoughts
There are just times you need to get away to refresh your mind and soul and that’s perfectly normal. As creatives is needed. Getting back to our roots, into nature, the peace and quiet of the forest helps calm our thoughts allowing us to let inspiration come to us naturally.
So, how do you feel about taking camping trips. Are you a natural camper or a “glamper”? Either way, you can get to a quiet place to relax, enjoy some time to think and even get some work on that project done while you’re there.
