It is a beautiful summer day. Not like one of those hot and humid Delaware days. The sun is bright and high as random sizes of cotton ball clouds float aimlessly through an otherwise brilliant blue sky. While I normally go to my favorite coffee shop to write or hide myself away in a secluded corner of my house, the day is too nice to spend inside.

I leave my laptop at home and take an old spiral notebook instead. I fish out a comforter, faded from years of use and stained from kids’ art projects and picnics past. With the car packed, I turn toward one of my favorite spots. White Clay Creek State Park is just a few miles from my home, but miles away from the busy reality of life.

As a pick a remote area under an aging oak tree, I take a moment to marvel at the beauty I don’t get from my desk at home: the rolling hills, deep green leaves on trees of all shapes and sizes and a curious groundhog poking his head out of the tall grass searching for something to eat. Although I often come to this park to hike or hear a concert, today I came to write.

I don’t usually write about nature or travel, but inspiration is a subject I can get jazzed about. I came to the park for inspiration and to ignite my sense of wonder. When I change my writing venue, I change the way I see things, therefore the way I write things. It also fuels my curious nature. What lives under those vines? What’s behind that barn? What is on the other side of that hill? Changing my venue opens up my senses to way no coffee shop does. The natural stimulant is awe.

Nature inspired many writers: Thoreau, Emerson and Dickinson to name a few. All used nature as the lens with which they viewed the world. John Muir used his passion for nature to inspire his writing and used his writing to put power behind his conservation efforts.

It’s not only nature that can help you see things differently. Any change in venue will help open your eyes to new possibilities and invite a natural curiosity. A writing ritual has a place in creating an environment of consistent writing effort. But, take the opportunities to change your vantage point and engage your senses. Your readers will thank you.

[bctt tweet=”It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see. ~ Henry David Thoreau”]