In my upcoming book, Find Your Burren, I am exploring the ways in which being out in nature can inspire creativity. This is based in science: Research shows that time spent in nature can relax and restore the areas of the brain where creativity happens. And some natural environments seem to be particularly inspiring (the Burren being a case in point).

 

But there are lots of natural settings that can be inspiring, and to some extent this depends on the individual. The place that works best for you might be different than the one that works for me. And, too, there are practical issues involved: A place that is easily accessible may be more valuable to you as a source of creative inspiration than someplace that you’re unlikely to visit because it’s too far away.

 

Perhaps more than one ‘Burren’ for one person

 

In my case, I have several ‘Burrens’—special places I go to for creative inspiration—that vary in terms of the type of setting and the accessibility. A local nature preserve that is a 15-minute drive away from where I live is my easy-to-get-to option. The Burren would be my ideal, but less-used option because I have to fly to it. And I have a couple of other options in-between—a small, walkable island I can get to by car in a couple of hours; a mountain with hiking trails that’s about a half hour away.

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I won’t say all of these places are equally inspiring to me but each one has some of the elements I look for in a ‘Burren’—walkable, quiet, scenic, breathable, and relaxing-yet-slightly stimulating. I go to these places to think, wonder, work on creative challenges—and jot down ideas that seem to surface more easily in these settings.

 

Where is YOUR Burren?

 

Do you have one already—and if not, can you think of some places that might be good candidates?

 

I’d love to hear from you about this—and I may use your feedback on this site and in my book. Tell me about the place(s) in nature that inspires you, describe it as best you can, and if it has ever inspired you in any tangible ways, let me know about that, too.

 

Part 2: Where’s your cave?

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One of the themes in my book is that while the great outdoors can inspire us and fill our minds with interesting thoughts and ideas, we often must retreat to a closed-off, private space to actually develop those thoughts and work on those ideas. I think of this as a “cave.”

 

Even though I have a workspace at home, I have also sought out a number of different caves for focusing on my creative work—motel rooms, coffee shops, library study rooms, borrowed offices, church basements, and even more offbeat places. I find each type of workspace offers different benefits.​​

 

Let me know where your personal cave is and describe in detail what it’s like, meaning how is it set up, what’s on the walls, is it dark or bright, noisy or quiet, how distant it is from where you live, etc. I’d also like to know how much time in a typical day or week you spend in that space actually working (web-surfing doesn’t count).

 

All of these details will help me in my research on the kinds of environments—both outdoors and indoors—that seem to foster creativity. I may even choose to use your description in the book. (I’ll check back you first, to make sure you’re okay with having your name in the book; I can also share anecdotes/examples anonymously, if preferred.)