Chasing Happy Guest Post

Hi Chasing Happy readers!  I'm so excited to be guest posting here today!  I’m Casey from True Colours, a travel blog that encompasses my passion for seeing the world and documenting my trips and tips for everyone with a little wanderlust in their hearts!  I do a lot of traveling, both for work and for pleasure, and in my travels, I've realized over the years that the world has a unique way of inspiring us.  For me, there is nothing that makes me happier or inspires me more than setting foot on a plane headed somewhere foreign, somewhere to intoxicate my senses, somewhere to pull me in with color and with beauty.  Being an Interior Designer by trade, I'm always open to new inspirations, new things to catch my attention and my travels have kept me inspired and feeling full of imagination over the years.  

So the next time you're looking for inspiration, for something to spur on your creativity, travel can offer each of us so much. From the spice markets of Marrakech to the old world buildings of Paris to the busy and rushed streets of London, the world is full of inspiration.  I've come up with a few different ways to spur on your creativity when you need it next, with inspiration from the world around us.  You don't even need to jump on a plane to experience it, although if you're like me, that would be my first choice!

1.  There is constantly inspiration around us but we often don't see it because we are so busy rushing around.  Color in our world is something that can be incredibly inspiring, taking in colors of buildings, colors of nature, it's really all around us all the time.  Whether you're taking in the orange brick of London buildings or a beautiful flowering tree in your backyard, color can inspire us tremendously if we only take the time to look for it.

2.  Our senses have a way of opening up our imaginations, whether you're walking through a spice market in Marrakech or smelling a fresh baked loaf of bread.  Let your senses open on on their own to the world around us and let your senses guide you.

3.  As humans, we tend to get in our bubbles and forget the world around us but as soon as you are able to open your mind and really see the world we live in, a whole new world of possibilities are open to us.  Whether that means listening to a different view point or wandering the streets of a new country, understanding how other people live and opening your mind to things you might not understand can be incredibly freeing and inspirational.

4.  Sometimes in order to really see what's in front of us, we need to take a step back and see the bigger picture.  Often times when we're looking for inspiration, we're too close to it to really see it.  When you step back, take in the larger picture around you, that's often times where inspiration will take over.  Whether that means you take in the views of Oahu from the top of a cliff or simply take a step back from a project you've been working on, often times it's when you take a step back you'll really see what you need.

5.  At the end of the day, no matter where you search for inspiration and no matter what your imagination is craving, it's the moment when you can really imagine the possibilities when you know you've found inspiration.  Our world is a blank canvas to draw from and when we can really draw our energy and our inspiration from the planet we call home, we'll be able to imagine an entire new world of possibilities.