Some days can feel tedious. To escape, you may be tempted to get online and scroll tropical beach vacations or snowy wonderlands. Ah, if only I could transport myself there tomorrow, you wish.

All we really need is to escape our own habitual thinking, if even for a few moments. To slow our inner chatter and let curiosity lead us to the other worlds right under our noses.

We all know how to create from emotional pain (Van Gogh, anyone?). But what is less discussed is creating from physical pain.

I had been looking forward to a week-long creative sabbatical for quite a while. It was time to begin my vision for the upcoming year. I saw myself slipping into the silence, doing some inspirational reading and writing, and listening as insights from my muse poured in. It seemed so simple.

It seems we are all about “living our dream” nowadays, but there’s something about that wording that puts many of us on edge. We feel there is something wrong with us if we haven’t crystallized some big vision for our lives. Or if we aren’t immediately in touch with some bodacious, juicy passion that inspires singing on mountain tops.