I Spy With My Creative Eye

One of the best ways to develop an “eye” as a creative person is to travel way beyond your neighborhood. Way beyond your comfort zone, if you can afford it.  We all get used to seeing the same sights, hearing the same sounds and tasting and smelling the food that’s familiar so much that we take those experiences for granted.  So when I got the opportunity to go to a distant land, I jumped at the opportunity.  Talk about culture shock!  For the first time in my life I was bombarded with the sound of the Italian language and later French.  I felt alone in a crowd, even though there were plenty of folks around who spoke English.  I couldn’t read the signs, so pictographs helped. But I loved it, and wrote quickly, trying to capture the sensory experience along with the change of scenery.  I remember the words of the customs agent who said, “pause often to just take it all in”.

 I booked my flights using great deals I snagged by using coupons.  They were very easy to apply, available at a click of a mouse, and totally accepted by the airlines.   I even booked stuff just using my cell phone.  It was a relief to feel I was not being taken like some people whose online tickets turn out to be scams.  Coupons offer deals you’ve got to see to believe.  You can get up to 40% off 24 hour sales, 70% off featured hotels and the best car rental rates around.  Starving artist that I am, I love that I can use this one coupon app and get great steals and deals on all my travel needs. 

The gamer in me loved seeing the volcanoes in Hawaii.  Standing on the black lava bed thinking of how the earth formed was awesome.  No matter how realistic game graphics make the scene appear, you can’t beat feeling the heat and smelling the scorched earth.  Standing there felt like I had travelled back in time.  It was exactly the experience my “eye” needed to extend beyond the creative boundaries in my head.  And the right spot to pause and take it all in.