Be a tourist in your hometown – Creativity Exercise # 7

I got out of my car and stood by the stream, just like a tourist would.

Would you like to experience delight every day? Would you like to feel inspired and energetic while doing your daily activities?

Would you like to feel as if you are on vacation right where you are?

I followed a three step process and was amazed at how my world changed – AND how invigorated and creative I felt.

BE A TOURIST IN YOUR HOMETOWN

Most of us walk or drive through our communities not really seeing what is there. We may be focusing on where we are going and what we need to do.

We do not see our surroundings in the same way a tourist or a first time visitor would. This creativity exercise involves intentionally seeing your world through the eyes of a tourist.

I had seen this gate a thousand times but this day I saw it as if I was a tourist.

STEP ONE : Say to yourself throughout the day “I am seeing this for the first time.”

My daughter-in-law Mary is from Malaysia. Most of what she saw in my home community in Southern Oregon was new to her. She had never been to a Wal-Mart or seen mile after mile of large farms.

She had not experienced snow or maple leaves in fall.

I looked at my community through her eyes and saw things I had gotten used to. I found myself smiling.

Now at least once a week I intentionally say to myself “I am seeing this for this first time” as I travel around my area. I have discovered so much!

STEP TWO Visit places you might not routinely see.

There are many, many places in our communities we may never see because they are not part of our daily routine. I make a point now of take the long way around to destinations so I discover the unexpected.

This shop sold plates and buttons and cowboy hats and a 1000 other items.

I have found old buildings and watched children feeding ducks on a pond. I have seen shops selling yarn and buttons, their colors an artist’s dream.

I have driven down roads I have never traveled before, truly seeing things for the first time.

I went to a circus I saw advertised in the paper.

STEP THREE Get a tourist guide and a map of your area. Check the newspaper and the internet for upcoming events and places of interest.

I went on the internet and stopped at the Tourist Bureau to get maps of my area. I have visited historical buildings and parks just as a tourist would.

You may want to record what you see by photographing it or drawing it. You could write a journal entry or poem. You can collect postcards or flyers from the areas of your community.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING is to deliberately and regularly see your surroundings with new eyes.

HAVE FUN BEING A TOURIST IN YOUR OWN COMMUNITY.

Here are some photos from one of my tourist at home days: