Time For A Tune-Up

The defacto guide to creativity and sledding with mice.

It must be something in the mountain air because here it is, our last full day in Canmore, and we both feel rejuvenated, younger, and have a bounce in our step — you could almost say our world has become cartoon-like. The colours are more saturated, the ideas flow more freely, and I swear I saw a family of mice dressed in little snowsuits tobogganing on the small hill in front of our hotel.

As far as creative retreats go, this one has been aces. We’ve written and started crewing up a complete script for an upcoming short film, and have created two new (and radically different) series of short films for Spring and Summer, which should keep us out of trouble until the Fall.

Not only have we developed new Dropbear and Panda properties, but I’ve also discovered and sketched out several new and exciting characters and locations for my ‘Great Canadian Novel.’ It’s incredible who and what you find when you aren’t looking and just spend your time being.

Not to be all mystical, but it took a lot of doing nothing to find and develop these ideas — there’s a universal truth worth exploring here and one I should keep in mind.

Granted, for the script we wrote, some deep research had to be done before we could find the fun in the story. I mean it wasn’t all just float-chambers, saunas, massages, and doing nothing (but it was a lot of that). And once we had all the background research sorted (which was also fun) and allowed ourselves the space to create, everything flowed easily.

There were times this week when Jennifer and I felt guilty for relaxing and taking it easy, but it was after these moments that the ideas flowed. It’s too easy to get caught up in the day-to-day mad rush of life and not leave room for rest, relaxation, and uncovering the fun. We laughed a lot this week, and Jennifer got compliments from random strangers about her amazing smile and epic energy.

My advice to our future selves is to relax more. Take more guilt-free breaks. Go for more walks. Read more. Laugh more. Tell more stories, and take Jennifer sledding with cartoon mice at every opportunity; and at the end of the day, I’ll kick the snow off my boots, build a nice fire, and pour them all cups of hot cocoa topped with tiny marshmallows.

I can say with absolute certainty that this is where the magic of creativity lives.