Embodied Exploration
Cultivating rest, creativity, learning, and becoming through a change in scenery
I found myself unable to write for the last few weeks. In reflecting on why this might be, it seemed to come down to a few different aspects:
Feeling burnt out and a lack of energy, especially to engage in my own hobbies and creative activities as I normally do.
Struggling to find inspiration in the ways that often feel natural to me.
My first instinct was to focus on what I should fix. Maybe I should make a to-do list, schedule my day into smaller increments, or organize my work space better. But each attempt to focus only made me feel more stuck. I found myself feeling like I had no energy left in my tank and no new ideas offering to turn into something tangible.
Through a lot of rest (hence my absence here on substack!), I slowly found myself starting to notice again. I noticed details in nature, art, architecture, and people that my busy, burn out brain was moving too quickly to recognize and take in before. My nervous system wasn’t asking for more structure or motivation. It was asking for a break so I could truly experience novelty, change, surprise, and joy again after the intensity of sameness that had dulled my curiosity.
Why Novelty Nourishes Us
Our brains and bodies are wired to respond to what feels new. Novelty stimulates the release of dopamine and norepinephrine, increases neuroplasticity, and helps us feel alert, alive, and engaged. It allows us to engage with ourselves, others, and our environment both cognitively and emotionally, often without the laborious nature of energy expenditure in our usual day-to-day routines.
While there have been several research articles (see Fennell, 2015, and Alam et al., 2023) and pieces written (see Forbes, National Geographic, and Taylor’s College) about the healing impact of novelty and travel on the brain, novelty doesn’t have to mean adventure in the grand sense. Some of these articles make it sound like novelty requires plane tickets, fancy meals, or extravagant airbnbs. What these articles do make clear is how experiencing something new helps to remind us that the world is much larger than the one we’ve grown accustomed to over time.
It feels incredibly important for me to emphasize that this same sense of novelty can be as simple as taking a different route on your walk or drive home, exploring a park you’ve never been to, or even pausing to take in the sunset instead of focusing on moving to the next task of the day.
Even small changes in scenery send signals of safety and curiosity to the nervous system. It’s these small moments of intentionality that can return us to a place of rest, curiosity, creativity, and even inspiration.
While I have been experiencing burnout, introducing even a small dose of newness has allowed my awareness to feel more keen. I slowly started to notice color, sound, and texture again. I found myself laughing at things out in the world that struck me as silly or clever. My practice of rest and novelty led me to feeling more alert in a gentle and inspiring way. That subtle shift sparked a rekindling of interest in the things around me, allowing me to experience creativity through rest.
Rest Doesn’t Have to Mean Stillness
We often think of rest as the opposite of movement, but I’m starting to reimagine that notion as only one of the many options. While stillness still serves an important purpose, my hope is that checking in with my body and my needs can help find which restful option feels best. In this case, I found myself traveling. Having no schedule, no place to be, no tours or events booked gave me a new perspective of travel that did truly involve rest and going along with whatever I needed or wanted for that day or moment.
Travel, in the broadest sense, doesn’t have to be far. It can be an afternoon spent wandering through a new neighborhood, or a few hours at a museum, or even the novelty of rearranging a room (one of my personal favorites). Each of these moments interrupts our busyness or autopilot and invites a slower, more embodied pace.
That’s the kind of rest I needed. A recalibration of what it feels like to feel engaged with both myself and my environment.
The Return of Creativity
Unfortunately, creativity doesn’t thrive under pressure. It even feels like my creativity actively rebels when I try to force it and returns only when enough space is made for it to move freely again.
I say unfortunately because there are many things I’d love to do creatively on a consistent schedule. Perhaps writing on substack is one of them. But approaching rest or novelty with the intention of recapturing creativity hasn’t worked for me.
Only through approaching rest without any ulterior motives has led me to truly experiencing novelty, inspiration, and creativity again.
These things return when we create conditions of curiosity and safety. The act of noticing itself becomes the first spark of inspiration. I’ve found it through noticing chalk on the sidewalk, the way light move through leaves, and even reading dull history books.
Feeling Present and Engaged
Finding novelty doesn’t have to mean going far. At its core, it means engaging with something new long enough to feel that you are an active participant in the world, with far more meaning to your life than to go through the motions of productivity.
When we give ourselves permission to experience newness, even in small ways, we also can allow ourselves to experience presence. We help our nervous systems recognize that it can be safe to pause, explore, meander, and ponder.
Novelty is a practice of presence and engagement. Each new experience invites us to connect with the world around us and allow us to impacted by that connection.
An Invitation
If you’ve been feeling stuck or uninspired, consider finding something unfamiliar. It could be taking a different path home, spending an hour in a space that feels unfamiliar, or going on a drive with no destination.
You don’t have to go far or spend much. What matters is the willingness to let yourself wander and experience without any expectations.
Allow yourself to reflect on what came up during this time. What did you notice? Was there anything you felt curious about? How did it feel to be unstructured for a moment?
Reflection Prompt
When was the last time a new view, a song, or an experience sparked a feeling of inspiration? Did you feel refreshed? Rested?
What might it look like to intentionally engage in more of those moments?
This whole article really resonated with me. I think I've been walking around in a burnt out mode for so long. But in recent months I am noticing things more, things that were always there but I didn't see them. So much beauty. I think my nervous system is still slowing down, I am hoping creativity will flourish at some point. I'd love that.