Yesterday I read a great article about setting aside fifteen minutes a day to Power Brainstorm, to Idea Generate and let the mind wander from one new idea to another. The author said that of course pumping out lots of ideas in an almost forced way will mean that a lot of the ideas aren’t going to work, but focusing your brain to think like this will get you a few ideas worth pursuing. This, of course, reminded me of the health benefits of letting the brain play and wander and lolligag that I learned from Tara Rodden Robinson.

My husband says that his best ideas come when he is in the canopy of a tree. He is a tree guy, and working in the branches of a tree is where he is most comfortable. I think my ideas come to me when I’m washing dishes or folding clothes.

Last night I went through most of the dishes on autopilot, just washing and scrubbing away, until I was down to the last few hand-wash items, a big broiler pan and drip pan. It required quite a bit of scrubbing and sudzing, re-positioning for a better angle and more elbow grease. I was getting a workout with that pan. And then I realized that it was almost like a Wash Board, one of the instruments used in Zydeco, and the chore became musical.

I was transported back to a stage performance of Stomp, “a unique combination of percussion, movement and visual comedy.” The performers made music out of anything, and in any situation: waiting for a bus, they made music with their snack bags; washing dishes for a job, they made music with every dirty dish, the metal sink, the water and the scrubbers.

And I felt really grateful that we cook at home, that I get to scrub my own dishes, and be reminded of music and rhythm and a wild, uproarious, joyful display of creativity.

Where do you get your best ideas? When do you give yourself permission to just noodle around up there in your brain and remember, dream or daydream?

photo from here